"■v'^-vr^ 

f. -.-><;.  t^ar;.  . 

'jc^'Jm 

EL^^UU^^ 

r^- 

A 

A  = 

=  - 

U  = 

^—  —1 

0  — 

=  = 

0  = 

^^  j^ 

b  ^ 

^?5  =_ 

3  = 

"  :> 

U  ^ 

^  S 

4   r^ 

=  x 

2  ^= 

=  J> 

1    ^ 

ps 

/ 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT  LOS  ANGELES 


The  Language  of  Richard  Wagner's 
Ring  des  Nibelungen 


BY 

JOHN  SCHULER 

Submitted  in  Partial  Fulfilment  of  the  Requirements  for  the 

Decree  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy,  in  the  Faculty  of 

Philosophy,  Columbia  University 


■"3  '. '  *    * 


LANCASTER.    Pa. 
Steinman  &  FOLTZ, 

1909 


•  •  t-     <   •  J*  ' 

«  to    c    • 


"«   *   «  « 


v; 


113  0  7 


Library 


^\0 


355 


PREFACE 

The  "Ring  des  Nibelungen"  is  not  considered  in  this  mono- 
graph from  the  viewpoint  of  the  musical  critic.  Music  is  a  field 
in  which  the  author  has  no  special  training.  It  is  well  to  state 
this  at  the  very  beginning.  The  "Ring  des  Nibelungen/'  how- 
ever, is  a  great  literary  production.  To  show  its  place  in  the 
development  of  German  libretti,  and  to  point  out  its  most  prom- 
inent linguistic  features,  is  the  object  of  this  work.  This  task 
has  not  yet  been  done  in  a  satisfactory  manner.  Wagner's  great- 
est work  has  only  too  often  been  laid  aside  with  a  shrug  or  a  sneer, 
prompted,  perhaps,  by  the  storm  of  adverse  criticism  and  ridicule 
which  arose  soon  after  it  was  published.  That  this  assumed 
formidable  dimensions  is  shown  by  Tappert's  pamphlet  entitled 
" Wagner-Lexikon "  (1877),  in  which  the  author  has  collected 
newspaper  and  other  comments  on  Wagner  and  his  works.  The 
''Ring"  was  called  "Alliterationsgest otter,  Casserolengerassel, 
Knueppeldamm,"  and  many  insulting  epithets  of  a  personal  and 
opprobrious  nature  were  hurled  at  the  Poet-musician.  Two 
essays  against  Wagner,  one  by  Dr.  W.  Luebke  (1869),  the  other 
by  Eduard  Hanslick,  were  published  in  one  pamphlet  wit  h  the 
following  preface:  "Richai-d  Wagner  hat  es  unternommen  ,  um 
seiner  Eitelkeit  willen,  den  Tempel  der  Humanitaet  zuscha  enden 
und  um  kuenstlerische  Unfaehigkeit  zu  beschoenigen,  die  G  esetze 
der  Kunst  aufzuloesen."  Dr.  W.  Mohr  in  a  little  book  e  ntitled 
"Richard  Wagner  und  das  Kunstwerk  der  Zukunft,"  Koeln, 
1876,  speaks  of  Wagner's  alliteration  and  underscores  one  pa  ssage 
in  the  following  manner.: 

O  heilige  Goetter,  hehre  Geshlechter, 
Weidet  eu'r  Aug'  an  dem  weihvollen  Paar. 
Getrennt — wer  mag  es  scheiden, 
Geshieden — trennt  es  sich  nie. 

This  shows  that  he  knew  absolutely  nothing  of  the  laws  of  allit- 
eration, nevertheless  he  thought  it  witty,  no  doubt,  to  exclaim: 
"Strabreim  dich  oder  ich  fress  dich." 


2 


4  Preface 

Alexander  Mozkowski  wrote  several  long  pieces  of  doggerel, 
no  date,  satirizing  the  "Ring"  in  the  Berhn  dialect;  and  Ludwig 
Brechter  wrote  "D'r  Hannes  viin  Boehl  in  de  erschte  Mannemer 
Niewelimge-Uffihrunge  vun  Richard  Wagner,  e  vier  Owend 
langes  Kunschtplaessir  in  zarde  paelzer  Reiml'cher  g'fasst," 
which  is  innocent  enough  in  its  way,  but  ridicule,  after  all,  is  at 
the  bottom  of  it.  To  give  a  full  history  of  adverse  criticism  of 
Wagner  would  fill  a  small  volume.  The  storm,  however,  has 
subsided,  and  the  time  has  come  when  it  is  possible  to  give  an 
unprejudiced  account  of  Wagner's  art-ideals  and  their  realization. 

Wagner  in  the  "Ring"  has  been  defended,  of  course,  from  the 
beginning,  but  the  defence,  so  far  as  the  author  is  able  to  see,  has 
been  pursued  only  along  general  lines.  The  task  of  connecting 
the  "Ring"  with  other  works  has  hardly  been  attempted,  and 
little  evidence  has  been  drawn  from  Wagner's  sources. 

Hans  von  Wolzogen  published,  in  1878,  a  monograph  on  Wag- 
ner's poetic  language  which,  for  the  time  being,  rendered  valuable 
service;  it  is,  however,  incomplete,  and  not  always  in  accordance 
with  fact,  since  he  starts  out  with  the  unfortunate  proposition 
that  Wagner  was  a  creator  of  language,  which  he  surely  was  not. 
The  present  work  endeavors  to  give  results  that  were  gained  by  a 
close  comparison  of  the  "Ring"  with  its  sources. 

The  author  is  free  to  admit  that  for  the  introduction  he  was 
compelled  to  rely  on  facts  published  elsewhere.  Historians  of 
music  have  carefully  gone  over  that  part  of  the  field,  for  which  no 
claim  to  original  work  other  than  that  of  proportion  is  made. 

The  monograph  is  the  outcome  of  a  paper  written  for  the  Ger- 
manic Seminar  at  Columbia  University.  It  owes  its  completion 
to  the  untiring  interest  which  Professor  William  H.  Carpenter 
has  evinced  in  many  ways,  and  the  author  takes  this  opportunity 
to  thank  him  most  heartil}^  for  his  assistance  and  encouragement. 


CONTENTS 

INTRODUCTION 

The  German  Libretto  Prior  to  Wagner 9 

CHAPTER  I 

Genesis  and  Conception  of  the  "Ring" 25 

CHAPTER  II 

Alliteration   45 

Remarks  by  the  critics.  Wagner's  sources  with  special  refereace  to 
Ettmueller's  translation  of  the  Edda.  Analysis  of  various  types 
of  alliteration  in  the  "Ring."  Proximate  position.  Approximate 
position. 

CHAPTER  III 

The  Vocabulary 

Introductory  Remarks   64 

I.  Analogies  With  the  Translators 66 

1.  Simrock's  Translation  of  the  Edda 67 

2.  Von  der  Hagen's  Translation  of  the  Voelsunga-Saga 70 

3.  Fouqu^,  Sigurd  der  Schlangentoeter 75 

II.  Use  and  Meaning  op  Words 76 

1.  Middle  High  German  Words 76 

2.  Unusual  Words 86 

III.  The  Verbal  Prefix 89 

1.  The  Prefix  Dropped 90 

2.  The  Prefix  Used 91 

IV.  Stylistic  Observ.vtions 92 

1.  Wagnerian  Idioms 92 

2.  Annomination 93 

3.  Play  Upon  Words 94 

4.  Favorite  Forms 94 

5.  Compound  Substantives 94 

6.  Invectives 95 

7.  Metaphor  and    Personification   of   the   Brute   and    Inanimate 

World 95 


ABBREVIATIONS 

Wagner's  drama  is  referred  to  as  "Ring,"  "The  Ring." 
R — Rheingold. 
W— Walkuere. 
S — Siegfried. 
G — Goetterdaemmerung. 
Other  abbreviations  are  explained  in  the  text. 

The  references  are  to  pages  of  Dr.  Julius  Burghold's  edition:    Der  Ring 
des  Niebelungen,  Mainz,  Verlag  von  B.  Schott's  Soehne,  no  date. 


INTRODUCTION 

THE    GERMAN    LIBRETTO    PRIOR    TO    WAGNER 

In  order  to  gain  an  adequate  appreciation  of  Richard  Wagner's 
art -ideals  from  a  linguistic  and  literary  point  of  view,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  glance  at  what  existed  before  him.  Though  the  Germans 
have  contributed  vastly  to  the  modern  opera,  they  did  not 
create  it;  that  honor  belongs  to  the  Italians  alone.  Its  begin- 
ning in  Germany  was  modest,  though  royal,  since  at  first  it  was 
only  a  court  luxury.  Setting  aside  as  irrelevant  to  our  subject 
the  Singspiele  of  Jalcob  AjTer,  published,  together  with  his  works, 
in  1618,  it  may  be  noted  that  the  first  so-called  German  opera 
was  sung  in  1627.  This  was  a  translation  by  Martin  Opitz,  of 
Rinucini's  libretto  "Dafne."^  In  a  short  preface,  Opitz  excuses 
himself  for  having  undertaken  the  task.  The  dedication  follows, 
written  in  Alexandrine  verse,  and  addressed  to  the  royal  pair 
for  whose  wedding  celebration  it  was  written.  This  is  followed 
by  the  piece  proper,  in  which  choruses  of  shepherds  and  nymphs 
alternate  with  the  songs  of  the  principal  dramatis  personcp,,  such 
as  Daphne,  Apollo,  Venus  and  Cupid.  Though  the  piece  is 
divided  into  five  acts,  the  whole  contains  only  about  550  lines; 
the  meter  changes  often  from  iambic  to  trochaic  movement; the 
language  is  very  verbose  and  artificial.  Frequently  two  or  three 
lines  of  description  must  be  read  before  the  reader  has  the  con- 
ception which  the  simple  word  "Sun,"  "Venus,"  or  the  like, 
would  have  readily  conveyed. 

"Daphne"  had  no  direct  influence  upon  the  subsequent  devel- 
opment of  the  opera,  though  it  mu.«;t  be  considered  as  something 
new  in  German  literature.  Some  years  later,  Opitz  wrote  another 
Hbretto,  "Judith."  It  differs  only  sHghtly  from  the  first,  and 
may  be  dismis.sed  here  without  any  further  consideration,     in 

1  M.  r)pitz,  Geistliche  und  Weltliche  Poemata,  1G4I. 

(9) 


10  The  German  Libretto  Prior  to  Wagner 

1644,  seventeen  years  after  Opitz's"  Daphne,"  the  first  real  German 
Singspiel  was  made  public.  The  text  was  written  by  Harsdoerf- 
fer,  of  Nuremberg,  the  music  by  Siegmund  Gottlieb  Staden, 
organist  of  the  Sebaldus  church  at  the  same  place.  It  bears  the 
title:  "Geistliches  Waldgedicht,  oder  Freudenspiel  Seelewig." 
The  author  thus  justifies  his  work:  "Efcliche  nennen  diese  Art 
Strafspiele  (Satyrika),  wann  nehmlich  allerhand  Waid  und 
Berggeister  eingefuehrt,  spielweis  allerley  Laster  bestrafen. 
Weil  aber  diese  meine  Arbeit  nicht  von  thoerichten  Liebesfanzen 
handelt,  als  habe  ich  es  ueberschrieben  'Ein  geistHches  WaJdge- 
dicht'  und  vermeine  darinnen  vorzustellen,  vie  der  boese  Feind 
den  frommen  Seelen  auf  allerley  Weise  nachtrachtet,  und  wie 
selbige  wiederum  von  dem  Gewissen  und  dem  Verstand  durch 
Gottes  Wort  vom  ewigen  Unheil  abgehalten  werden.  Dement- 
sprechend  ist  der  Name  'Seelewig'  gewaehlt,  verstehend  die 
ewige  Seele."^  This  intention  was  made  good  by  the  author. 
His  chief  aim  was  not  art,  but  utilitarian  Christian  morals. 
Harsdoerffer  was  not  the  man  to  lead  along  new  paths.  His 
text  closely  follows  Itahan  models;  the  actors  are  shepherds, 
shepherdesses  and  nymphs,  including  a  satyr,  or  forest  spirit, 
and  a  matron. 

During  the  unhappy  political  condition  in  Germany  at  this 
time^  no  great  development  in  this  direction  could  reasonably 
be  expected,  but  there  was  still  a  place  where  conditions  were 
congenial.  This  was  Hamburg.  By  reason  of  its  geographical 
position,  this  city  was  not  touched  so  severely  by  the  Thirty 
Years'  War,  and  it  presently  became  the  Mecca  of  musicians. 
Music  had  been  fostered  here  for  years,  and  public  performances 
and  private  concerts  were  given  which  had  created  an  interest 
in  this  art  among  the  citizens,  whatever  their  social  station. 
Elsewhere  the  opera  existed  only  through  the  aid  and  protection 
of  royalty;  here  it  could  flourish  without  royal  favor,  and  did 
so  as  early  as  165S.  This  flourishing  condition  of  the  opera  was 
enhanced  by  the  fact  that  there  was  no  lack  of  talent  of  a  cer- 
tain kind,  either  in  a  literary  or  musical  direction.  The  opposi- 
tion of  the  clergy  was  overcome  by  the  promise  that,  in  the 
case  of  biblical  productions,  nothing  should  offend;  the  promot- 


1  C/.  Langhans,  Geshichte  der  Musik,  i.,  408. 


The  German  Libretto  Prior  to  Wagner  11 

ers  pledged  themselves  to  put  all  productions  before  a  censor- 
ship, to  keep  the  theatres  closed  on  the  Sabbath  and  on  Feast- 
days,  and  to  give  a  part  of  the  receipts  to  the  poor.  All  this 
looks  very  well  on  paper,  and  things  went  smoothly  for  a  while, 
but  gradually  the  promise  was  broken.  As  early  as  1679  Harlekin 
was  introduced  to  make  things  more  interesting.^  In  a  libretto 
of  unknown  origin,  entitled  "Die  Makkabaeische  Mutter  und 
ihre  sieben  Soehne,"  an  apostate  Jew  feasts  on  stolen  pork  and 
sausage,  singing: 

Sa,  lustig  gefressen  und  tapfer  gesoffen, 

So  lange  die  schleckische  Gurgel  steht  offeu. 

Bei  niedlichen  Wuersten  da  kommt  es  ans  Duersten, 

Bei  koestlichen  Schinken  da  schmecket  das  Trinken; 

Erfreut  euch  ihr  Brueder,  wir  habens  getroffen, 

Sa,  lustig  gefressen  und  tapfer  gesoffen." 

By  1681  banality  had  made  uncommonly  swift  progress.  A 
so-called  "Intrigue"  was  given  before  the  opera  proper,  in  total 
disregard  of  what  followed,  even  though  this  was  of  the  most 
sublime  and  sacred  character.  The  libretti  were  mostly  puerile 
productions,  which  have  justly  been  ignored  by  historians  of 
German  literature.  The  singers  were  the  best  to  be  had  under 
the  circumstances,  though  cobblers,  tailors  and  fishwives  often 
led  in  the  title  roles.  Even  before  the  opera  in  Hamburg  had 
deteriorated,  and  while  such  men  as  Keiser,  Mattheson  and  the 
young  Handel  were  there,  it  was  customary  to  introduce  French 
and  Italian  words  into  the  text.  As  a  work  of  art,  the  libretti 
as  a  whole  had  no  elevating  features.  Beheading,  while  oxen 
and  calf's  blood  flowed  in  streams,  was  a  common  feature,  because 
"it  is  more  to  the  point  to  act  these  things  than  to  have  them 
reported  by  a  messenger."^  In  other  libretti,  words  and  ges- 
tures were  so  erotic  and  shameless  as  to  forbid  c|Uotation.  Con- 
ditions might  have  taken  a  turn  for  the  better,  however,  as 
some  of  Germany's  foremost  poets,  who  soon  followed,  were  in- 
terested in  opera  as  a  form  of  art,  had  not  a  great  Italian  invaded 
Vienna.  This  was  Metastasio,  who  took  Germany  by  storm  at 
his  first  appearance  and  who  reigned  supreme  for  half  a  century. 
His  first  opera,  entitled  "Didone,"  was  produced  in  Naples,  in 

1  Langhans,  supra,  i,  410. 

2  Hotter,  in  the  preface  to  his  opera  "Stoerteheckcr  und  Joedgc  MichacLs." 


12  The  German  Libretto  Prior  to  Wagner 

1724.  In  1730  he  was  called  as  court-poet  to  Vienna,  where  he 
remained  until  his  death,  in  1782. 

Several  years  before  his  demise  came  the  noted  reform  by 
Gluck.  There  is  no  evidence  that  Gluck  wrote  a  single  German 
opera,  but  this  was  chiefly  the  fault  of  existing  conditions. 
What  could  a  man  of  his  stamp  do  with  such  libretti  as  those 
that  have  just  been  referred  to?  He  held  the  stringent  views 
upon  the  relation  of  text  and  music  which  the  Florentine  Camar- 
ata  had  promulgated  before  him,  hence  it  was  natural  that  he 
should  look  about  for  the  very  best  texts.  Of  these  he  found 
none  worthy  of  consideration  at  the  beginning  of  his  career,  and 
in  later  life,  in  a  foreign  country  and  engaged  with  foreign  pro- 
ductions, he  felt  the  impossibility  of  writing  a  German  opera. 
Though  he  seriously  thought  of  putting  Klopstock's  "Hermans- 
schlacht"  to  music,  he  was  never  fortunate  enough  to  have  a 
close  acquaintance  with  the  great  literary  men  of  his  time  and 
country,  though  these  were  in  sympathy  with  his  reform.  Wie- 
land^  writes:  "At  last  w^e  have  lived  to  see  the  time  when  the 
mighty  genius  of  Gluck  has  undertaken  the  great  task  of  musical 
reform.  The  success  of  his  'Orpheus'  would  justify  the  greatest 
hopes  were  there  no  insurmountable  difficulties  to  defeat  his 
best  intentions  even  in  those  European  cities  where  the  fine 
arts  own  the  foremost  temples.  It  is  a  great  and  courageous 
undertaking  to  elevate  these  arts  to  their  original  dignity  and 
honor,  which  the  rabble  is  wont  to  look  upon  as  a  means  for 
sensuality,  and  to  establish  nature  upon  that  throne  which  for 
so  long  a  time  has  been  usurped  by  the  capricious  power  of 
custom,  luxury  and  wanton  sensuality." 

Herder,  too,  was  not  insensible  to  the  possibilities  which  a 
perfect  union  of  poetry  and  music  might  bring  about.  In  his 
dialogue:  "Ob  Malerei  oder  Tonkunst  eine  groessere  Wirkung 
gewaehre — ein  Goettergespraech,"^  he  discusses  the  matter  very 
seriously.  ]\Iusic  complains  that  poets  often  mislead  instead  of 
leading  her,  but  she  is  willing  to  admit  that  she  and  poetry  are 
sisters,  belonging  inseparably  together  for  the  purpose  of  pro- 
ducing the  greatest  effect.  But  music  resents  being  the  hand- 
maiden of  poetry,  since  she  was  poetry's  tutor  from  the  begin- 


iWieland,  Merkur,  1775. 

2  Herder,  H^mpel  Edition,  ii,  237. 


The  German  Libretto  Prior  to  Wagner  13 

ning.  In  one  of  his  book-reviews,  Herder  treats  the  same  sub- 
ject, using  the  same  terms  of  appreciation  of  music. ^  Of  far 
greater  importance,  however,  are  his  remarks  in  "Adrastea," 
under  the  title  of  "Tanz.  Melodrama."^  Mere  gestures,  he  sa3's, 
even  when  accompanied  by  music,  are  not  sufficient,  but  music 
augmented  by  poetry  and  supported  by  gesture  opens  a  new  field 
for  poetry.  This  is  exactly  what  Gluck  taught.  Yet  what  a 
deplorable  difference  between  theory  and  practice!  Herder 
ridicules  the  German  opera  most  scathingly.  "The  librettist," 
he  says,  "Is  scarcely  ever  mentioned;  his  words,  very  rarely 
understood  nor  worthy  of  being  understood,  simply  give  the 
musician  a  "musical  thought'  and  an  idea  to  the  decorator. 
Has  the  composer  gained  anything  by  slighting  the  text?  He 
may  think  to  have  improved  his  score,  since  he  is  at  liberty  to 
twist  and  turn  his  airs  to  his  heart's  content,  but  while  creating 
something  really  great,  he  is  hampered  by  worthless,  shameless 
stuff.  The  music  transports  one  into  heaven,  the  text  into  pur- 
gatory— if  not  still  lower."  Then,  having  evident  reference  to 
Gluck,  Herder  lauds  him  as  the  man  w^ho  will  do  away  with  this 
sort  of  rubbish,  demolishing  the  rickety  hut  of  operatic  jingle- 
jangle  and  raising  an  Odeon  in  which  poetry,  music,  action  and 
decoration  are  cast  from  one  mold. 

With  such  appreciation  it  is  deplorable  that  Gluck  did  not 
become  acquainted  with  a  poet  with  whom  he  could  have  worked 
in  co-operation.  Though  this  was  not  the  case,  his  reform  was 
significant,  since  it  caused  the  Italian  opera  to  diminish  in  popu- 
larity. The  Germans,  too,  felt  their  national  importance  more 
and  more.  A  new  day  was  dawning;  before  this,  however, 
could  shed  its  full  light,  there  was  a  short  period  which  claims 
our  attention,  namely,  the  period  of  the  co-operation  of  Christian 
Felix  Weisse  with  Johann  A.  Miller,  the  composer. 

In  1740,  the  Hamburg  opera  dissolved  by  reason  of  its  own 
weakness.  Three  years  later  the  "Merry  Cobbler,  or  the  Devil  to 
Pay"  was  given  in  Berlin,  under  the  title:  "  Der  Tcufel  its  los." 
The  original  was  imported  from  England.  The  Schoenemann 
troupe  gave  it  for  the  first  time  on  the  24th  of  l"el)ruary,  1743, 
translated  (juite  vor})ally  by  Casper  W.  von  Borck,  who  had  ahso 

'  Supra,  xxiv,  670. 
2  Ibid.,  xiv,  27 J. 


14  The  German  Libretto  Prior  to  Wagner 

put  Shakespere's  "Julius  Caesar"  into  rhyme.^  The  attempt 
was  a  decided  failure,  German  taste  having  been  ruined  by  the 
introduction  of  Italian  intermezzi.  These,  as  a  rule,  consisted 
of  two  acts,  played  between  the  second  and  third  acts  of  the 
regular  piece.  Even  Frederick  the  Great  took  much  delight  in 
these,  though  some  were  very  obscene,  especially  in  gestures, 
and  translations  were  printed  in  Germany  as  early  as  1725. 
They  became  so  general,  and  the  demand  of  the  public  was  so 
urgent,  that  even  Madam  Neuber  was  forced  to  produce  them. 
Koch,  in  competition  with  the  Schoenemann  troupe,  had  many 
intermezzi  translated.  Such  an  intermezzo  was  even  put  be- 
tween the  acts  of  Gottsched's  "Cato,"  not  at  all  to  the  liking  of 
the  author. 

Under  such  conditions  it  was  natural  that  men  with  higher 
ideals  longed  for  something  better,  and  Koch  requested  V/eisse 
to  prepare  a  translation  of  the  "Devil,"  regardless  of  Borck's 
already  existing  translation.  Weisse  took  up  the  task  with  a 
will  and  wrote  many  original  songs.  The  piece  was  given 
October  6,  1752,  and  was  received  with  great  applause.  Seven 
years  later  Weisse  translated  the  second  part,  under  the  title: 
"Der  lustige  Schuster,  eine  komische  Oper  in  drei  Aufzuegen," 
which,  however,  marked  a  noticeable  falling  off  from  the  first 
part,  both  in  technique  and  content.  The  piece  seems  to  have 
been  written  against  Gottsched,  who,  as  we  shall  see  later,  took 
a  hostile  attitude  toward  the  opera. 

The  composer,  Johann  Adam  Hiller,  born  in  1728,  in  Wen- 
disch  Ossig,  near  Goerlitz,  co-operated  with  Weisse,  and  from 
now  on  they  annually  gave  a  new  operetta  in  Leipzig.  The 
most  important  ones  were  "Lottchen  am  Hofe"  and  "Die  Liebe 
auf  dem  Lande,"  which  Weisse  made  after  foreign  models.  Sub- 
sequently he  created  original  works,  such  as  "Die  Jagd,"  "Der 
Aerntekranz,"  "Der  Dorfbarbier,"  "Die  Schaefer  als  Pilgrime," 
and  "Die  Jubelhochzeit."  All  these  pieces,  however,  whether 
original  or  worked  over,  clearly  show  their  source,  both  as  to 
their  location  and  tendency.  This  source  was  Rousseau.  The 
place  of  action  is  a  rural  district,  hamlet  or  town;  the  tendency 
is  a  vain  glorification  of  the  naive  virtues  of  the  dwellers  in  those 
places  as  compared  with  the  immoral,   enervated   folk  in  the 

IC/.  J.  Minor,  C.  F.  Weisse,  etc.,  131. 


The  German  Libretto  Prior  to  Wagner  15 

higher  stations  of  hfe,  especially  of  those  living  in  cities.  They 
are  "Singspiele"  at  best,  intended  to  be  spoken,  with  here  and 
there  a  versified  monologue  or  dialogue.  The  aria  is  the  pre- 
dominating feature  in  the  singing,  though  an  occasional  duet, 
trio  and  even  a  quartet  occurs.  The  productions,  as  a  rule, 
remind  one  of  Lessing's  first  dramatic  works.  A  pair  of  lovers 
who  became  separated,  a  rival  to  the  absent  lover,  gawky  and 
clumsy;  a  forged  letter,  a  married  couple  who  quarrel,  a  second 
young  couple,  the  return  of  the  departed  lover,  the  wedding 
celebration,  not  only  of  the  first  pair,  but  of  the  second  also,  this, 
however,  without  any  previous  development  in  the  piece — that 
is  the  type  which  Weisse  works  on  again  and  again.  "Die  Jubel- 
hochzeit,"  for  instance,  his  last  production,  has  little  action. 
It  was  severely  criticised  even  by  his  friends,  Knebel,^  Ramler 
and  Thuemmel:  "Three  awful  acts,  badly  written,  without 
special  action,  full  of  base  jokes  with  ordinary  and  slovenly- 
written  verse."^  It  is  especially  poor  in  deep  psychological 
moments,  and  when  one  of  these  arises,  Weisse  misses  his  oppor- 
tunity. The  piece  is  full  of  platitude,  and  Weisse's  technique 
borders  on  the  ridiculous.  It  is  true,  however,  that  many 
passable  and  a  few  really  beautiful  passages  are  to  be  found. 
These  productions  became  very  popular;  various  striking  songs 
were  caught  up  and  sung  by  the  people  and  they  even  became 
known  in  Italy  and  France. 

Gottsched  opposed  the  opera  most  vigoroush'.^  In  his 
"Noethiger  Vorrath,"  of  the  year  1741,  he  rejoices  that  the 
opera  has  ceased  to  exist,  and  now  it  raised  its  head  again  before 
his  eyes,  and  to  him  under  the  most  hateful  circumstances. 
That  this  revival  came  from  England,  that  the  Swiss  school 
looked  on  complacently,  and  that  Koch,  with  whom  he  had 
a  falling  out,  instigated  the  whole  movement,  was  more  than  he 
could  bear.  A  book  on  the  English  theatre,  in  which  consider- 
able surprise  is  expressed  that  the  English  people  had  a  taste  for 


IC/.  Knebel'.s  Nachlass,  ii,  109. 
2C/.  J.  Minor,  supra,  p.  178. 

3  J.  Minor  cites  a  folio  at  tiie  Royal  I/iijrary  in  Berlin  in  wiiicli  tlie  wliole 
controversy  is  preserved.     Cf.  .Appendix  to  iiis  i;ook,  supra,  p.  37o  IT. 


16  The  German  Libretto  Prior  to  Wagner 

such  miserable  pieces  as  were  then  given,  fell  into  his  hands.^ 
Encouraged  by  this,  Gottsched  made  many  comments  favorable 
to  the  author  and  hostile  to  Koch.^  In  answer,  Koch  put  the 
"Devil"  on  the  boards  again.  An  epilogue,  written  by  one 
Steinel  and  spoken  by  Madam  Koch,  ended  thus: 

Deswegen  hatteii  wir  uns  wirklich  vorgenommen, 
Den  "Teufel"  weg  zu  thun.     Doch  hat  es  uns  gereut, 
Und  wir  behalten  ihn,  wenn  ihr's  zufrieden  seid.3 

These  lines  challenged  the  public  to  act  as  judge,  which  they 
did  in  a  most  boisterous  manner.  Clapping,  stamping  and  da 
capo  cries,  together  with  wild  vocal  applause,  came  from  all 
parts  of  the  house.  Koch  afterwards  had  to  confess  that  he 
did  wrong,  but  Gottsched's  leadership  was  at  an  end.  Subse- 
quently, the  opera  flourished  in  Gotha,  Mannheim,  Frankfurt, 
Prao-ue,  Berlin,  and  even  in  minor  places.  Heermann  as  libret- 
tist and  Wolf  as  composer  co-operated  in  Weimar;  in  Gotha, 
Michaelis  and  Gotter  wrote  libretti,  which  Schweizer  and  Beuda 
put  to  music ;  Schwan  and  Faber  worked  together  in  Mannheim ; 
in  Frankfurt,  Andre  composed  text  and  music  himself;  Henisch 
was  rather  productive  in  Prague;  Eschenbach  and  Engel  in  Leip- 
zig and  even  Nicolai  and  Thuemmel  caught  the  spirit,  which 
shows  how  popular  the  opera  had  become.  All  these  men  fol- 
lowed Weisse  more  or  less  closely,  and  even  Goethe,  who  did  not 
find  it  beneath  his  dignity  to  write  "Singspiele,"  depended 
also  on  Weisse,  at  least  for  the  form  of  his  productions.^  "Erwin 
und  Elmire"  was  begun  in  1774  and  laid  away.  About  1775, 
after  his  acquaintance  with  Lili,  Goethe  finished  it  and  had  it 
printed,  though  seventeen  years  later  it  was  rewritten  in  Rome.^ 
The  sub-title  of  "Claudine  von  Villa  Bella,  '  written  in  its  first 
draft,  in  1775,  described  the  piece  as  "Ein  Schauspiel  mit 
Gesang,"  but  when  the  second  version  was  written,  also  in 
Rome,  it  was  merely  styled  "Ein  Singspiel"  (1788).     The  third 

1  "Lettre  sur  le  theatre  anglois  avec  une  traduction  de  I'avare,  comddie  de 
Mr.  Shadwell,  et  de  la  Femme  de  campagne,  comedie  de  Mr.  Wicherly,  T.  I., 

ii,  1752." 

2"Neustes  aus  der  anmuthigen  Gelehrsamkeit,"  Hornung,  1753. 

3  From  Minor,  p.  148. 

4W.  Martinsen,  Goethe's  Singspiele  im  Verhaeltnis  zu  den  Weissischen  Oper- 
etten.  Diss.,  Dresden,  1887. 

5C/.  Letter  to  Herder,  January  10,  1788. 


The  German  Libretto  Prior  to  Wagner  17 

piece  of  this  genre,  "Lila,"  was  made  in  1777,  and  given  in 
honor  of  Duchess  Louise  on  her  birthday.  This  is  not  printed 
and  even  the  old  manuscript  is  unknown,  but  Goethe  rewrote 
it,  also  in  Rome,  in  such  a  way  that  it  could  not  be  recognized 
from  the  first  draft. ^  Had  we  no  other  evidence  relating  to 
Goethe's  interest  in  the  operetta,  these  facts  would  be  proof 
enough.  The  fact  that  these  three  pieces  were  made  in  three 
successive  years,  and  all  worked  over  in  the  time  of  his  maturity 
and  in  Italy,  where  he  changed  his  views  in  more  than  one  respect, 
compels  attention.  The  matter,  however,  is  readily  explained. 
In  Italy  he  was  brought  into  contact  ■\^^th  the  Opera  Buffa, 
with  their  trivial  texts  written  to  Southern  music.  He  felt 
himself  called  upon  to  give  the  Northern  countries  something 
similar,  but  with  a  worthy  libretto.  Accordingly,  when  he  sent 
Herder  the  third  act  of  "Claudine,"  he  writes:  "I  hope  it  will 
please  you  only  half  as  much  as  I  am  pleased  to  have  finished  it. 
Since  I  now  know  the  needs  of  the  lyric  theatre  more  fully,  it 
has  been  my  endeavor  to  work  into  the  hands  of  the  composer 
and  actor  by  means  of  many  sacrifices.  The  threads  in  the 
texture  upon  which  one  wishes  to  embroider  must  be  far  apart, 
and  for  the  purpose  of  a  comic  opera  it  must  be  woven  like 
Marline;  nevertheless  I  have  had  a  care  that  my  work  might 
also  be  read  with  pleasure.  At  any  rate,  I  did  what  I  conld."^ 
It  was  his  object  to  write  pieces  which  were  not  altogether 
"senseless,"  yet  he  felt  that  these  must  be  augmented  by  music 
in  order  to  express  the  full  intention  of  the  poet. 

But  this  was  not  all.  In  1779,  seven  years  before  the  Italian 
journey,  he  wrote  "Jeryund  Baetly."  In  sending  the  produc- 
tion to  Kayser,  the  composer,  he  accompanied  it  with  a  signifi- 
cant letter.^  In  it  Kayser's  attention  is  drawn  to  the  fact  that 
the  piece  contains  three  types  of  songs.  First,  those  in  which 
the  auditor  infers  that  the  singer  had  learned  them  somewhere 
else,  and  uses  them  extemporaneously  for  the  present  occasion. 
These  are  to  have  particular,  well-defined  and  rounded-out 
melodies,  which  draw  sudden  attention  and  are  to  be  easily  re- 

ISchroer,  Deutsche  Nat.  Literalur,  Goethe,  vii,  p.  200. 
2  Letter,  Februarj-  6,  1788. 

3Schroer,    ifupra,    247;  Duentzer,    Neue    Goethcstudien,    92;  Uurkliardt, 
Goethe  und  der  Komponisl  Ph.  Chr.  Kayser,  1879,  21. 


18  The  German  Libretto  Prior  to  Wagner 

membered.  Secondly,  airs  in  which  the  singer  expresses  the 
emotions  of  the  present  moment,  and  which,  carried  away  by  the 
melody,  he  must  sing  from  the  depth  of  his  heart.  These  must 
be  sung  with  simplicity,  truth  and  clearness,  ranging  from  the 
sUghtest  to  the  most  violent  expression  of  emotion.  Thirdly, 
the  rythmical  dialogue.  This  lends  action  to  the  whole  produc- 
tion, by  means  of  which  the  composer  is  enabled  either  to  retard 
the  movement  by  spoken  declamation  in  uneven  measure,  or  to 
accelerate  it  by  a  quickly-moving,  rolling  melody.  This  rythm- 
ical dialogue  must  be  properly  gauged  to  the  position,  action  and 
motion  of  the  performer.  This  is  highly  important  for  the 
composer;  he  must  never  lose  sight  of  it,  so  that  pantomime 
and  action  become  not  too  cumbersome.  Kayser,  furthermore, 
is  advised  to  take  notice  that  almost  all  dialogues  in  this  particular 
piece  have  the  same  metre,  and  should  he  be  fortunate  enough 
to  find  a  leading  theme,  suited  for  the  purpose,  he  would  do  well 
to  let  it  sound  through  repeatedly;  but  great  care  should  be  taken 
not  to  overdo  matters  in  this  respect,  since  the  piece,  towards 
the  end,  is  composed  almost  exclusively  of  song.  In  a  second 
letter  to  Kayser,^  Goethe  goes  over  the  same  ground  again  and 
gives  his  conception  of  the  mutual  relation  between  text  and 
music. 

Though  Goethe  had  not  the  opportunity  to  work  in  co-opera- 
tion with  any  of  the  great  composers  of  his  time,  he  continued  to 
write  his  ''Singspiele."  In  1782,  "Die  Fischerin"  was  pro- 
duced. It  opens  with  "Erlkoenig"  and  contains  several  of 
Herder's  folk-songs  from  "Stimmen  der  Voelker"  in  adaptation. 
"Es  war  ein  Ritter,  der  reist'  durch's  Land,"  ''Ich  hab's  gesagt 
schon  meiner  Mutter,"  and  the  final  song:  "Wer  soil  Braut  sein" 
are  typical  examples.  In  "Scherz,  List  und  Rache"  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Italian  intermezzi  is  noticeable.  Kayser  had  written 
from  Italy  that  he  would  gladly  write  an  Opera  Buffa  in  co- 
operation with  him,  and  in  answer  to  this,^  Goethe  confesses 
to  have  had  the  desire  to  write  one,  especially  since  he  had  heard 
at  least  a  dozen  of  them  the  previous  winter.  "Scherz,  List  und 
Rache"  was  the  result,  though  it  is  plainly  more  than  an  inter- 


1  January-  20,  1780. 

2  Letter,  Juae  28,  1784. 


The  German  Libretto  Prior  to  Wagner  19 

mezzo.  Under  the  head  of  finished  operettas,  "Proserpina," 
and  "Der  Triumph  der  Empfindsamkeit "  may  be  mentioned. 
Left  fragmentary,  or  only  begun,  are  "Die  ungleichen  Hausge- 
nossen,"  "Theatrahsche  Abenteuer,"  "Der  Zauberfloete  Zweiter 
Teil,"  "Die  Danaiden,"  and  "Der  Loewenstul." 

Goethe  could  not  have  written  an  opera  in  the  sense  that 
Wagner  used  the  term,  since  he  was  not  a  professional  musician. 
His  hmitations  were  too  great.  His  productions  were  mere 
"Singspiele"  in  form,  and,  viewed  in  this  light,  no  progress  had 
been  made  since  Weisse,  though  Goethe  wrote  this  genre  from 
1774-1795,  a  period  of  twenty-one  years.  It  is  true,  he  became 
tired  of  the  regular  metres  in  verse,  and  states  that  he  intention- 
ally avoided  the  eternal  change  between  the  iambic,  trochaic 
and  dactylic  movements,  but  as  a  result  of  this,  some  of  his 
verses  are  merely  metrical  prose. 

Most  of  Goethe's  "Singspiele"  are  farcial.  They  turn  upon 
related  themes:  To  gain  the  love  of  a  coy  maiden  by  means  of  a 
rough  joke  in  "  Jery  und  Baetely,"  to  teach  punctuality  by  means 
of  a  pleasant  device  in  the  "Fischerin,"  to  regain  possessions 
fraudulently  taken,  by  means  of  bold  tricks  in  "Scherz,  List  und 
Rache,"  to  cure  the  wild  imaginations  of  a  disordered  mind  by 
means  of  cunning,  yet  psychologically  contrived  deceptions,  in 
"Lila."  All  this  was  according  to  Goethe's  nature.  When  all 
is  said,  his  influence  on  the  opera  was  small. 

Another  star  had  arisen  in  Germany  which,  for  the  time 
being,  drew  the  attention  of  all  Europe — ^lozart.  Before  he 
was  seventeen  years  old,  Mozart  had  composed  six  Italian 
operas,  of  which  nothing  but  the  titles  remain.  Though  his 
first  important  production,  "Idomeo,  Re  di  Greta"  (1780),  was 
also  Italian,  he  had,  as  early  as  1775,  the  burning  desire  to  write 
a  German  opera.  About  this  time  he  even  had  the  dream  of 
establishing  German  opera  in  Vienna.^  The  circumstances  for 
the  fulfilment  of  such  a  dream  were  auspicious;  Joseph  H.  was 
looking  for  a  "Gapellmeister"  with  a  knowledge  of  German,  one 
possessed  of  genius  and  able  to  produce  something  new.  Gluck 
had  cea.sed  composing,  and  though  Italian  influence  was  .still 
strongly  felt,   through  the  works  of  Salieri,   "the   idol    of  the 


1  L.  Nohl,  Lije  of  Moznrl,  trans,  hy  J.  I>.  Lalor,  p.  88. 


20  The  German  Libretto  Prior  to  Wagner 

emperor,"  the  time  was  ripe  for  German  opera.  In  1782,  Mozart 
appeared  with  his  first  German  production,  "Die  Entfuehrung 
aus  dem  Serail."  The  success  of  this  work  was  assured  from  the 
very  beginning.  Even  Goethe  felt  that  his  endeavors  in  the 
"Singspiel"  went  for  naught  when  Mozart's  piece  appeared.^ 
He  says:  "All  the  pains  we  took  to  confine  ourselves  within 
narrow  limits  went  for  nothing  when  Mozart  appeared.  The 
'Entfuhrung  aus  dem  Serail"  threw  all  else  into  the  shade,  and 
our  carefully  worked  out  piece  ('Scherz,  List  und  Raehe')  w^as 
never  heard  of  again  at  any  theatre."  This  could,  certainly,  nob 
have  been  the  fault  of  Goethe  s  texts;  they  were  a  step  in  the 
right  direction,  and  far  above  any  libretti  that  Mozart  put  to 
music.  The  fact  is  that  Mozart,  so  far  as  the  texts  were  con- 
cerned, had  wholly  lost  sight  of  the  noble  inheritance  of  Gluck. 
This  marks  a  decided  retrogression  in  the  development  of  libretti 
in  Germany.  The  text  of  the  "Entfuehrung,"  written  by 
Bretzner,^  was  done  fairly  well,  but  Mozart  tampered  with  it 
considerably.  The  composer's  father  reproved  him  for  having 
done  so,  ana  his  lettsr  in  reply  gives  a  clear  exposition  of  his  own 
views. ^  He  saj^s:  "Now  about  the  text  of  the  opera.  .  . 
After  all,  the  poetry  must  be  the  handmaid  of  the  music.  Why 
do  Italian  comic  operas  always  please,  in  spite  of  their  wretched 
librettos,  even  in  Paris,  as  I  was  witness  myself?  Because  the 
music  is  supreme,  and  everything  else  is  forgotten.  All  the 
more,  then,  will  an  opera  be  likely  to  please  in  which  the  plan 
of  the  piece  is  well  carried  out  and  the  words  are  written  simply 
to  suit  the  music ;  not  turned  and  twisted  so  as  to  ruin  the  com- 
position for  the  sake  of  a  miserable  rhyme,  w^hich  does  far  more 
harm  than  good  in  a  dramatic  representation."  Thus,  to  use  the 
phraseology  of  Jahn,  Mozart  looks  upon  the  text  as  a  co-operating, 
and  not  as  a  dominating  element;  he  justifies  his  position  by 
pointing  out  that  perfect  poetry  is  weak  when  joined  to  bad 
music,  whereas  bad  poetry  becomes  cjuite  respectable  when  com- 
bined with  excellent  music.     Leasing,  too,  makes  several  remarks 

^  Brief wechsel  mil  Zelter,  ii,  121;  Riemer,  Mitieilungen,  ii,  292. 

2  "Belmont  und  Constanze,  oder  die  Entfuehrung  aus  dem  Serail."     Eine 
Operetti  in  drei  Akten  von  C.  F.  Bretzner,  Leipzig,  1781. 

3  Letter,  October  13,  1781 ;  cf.  Jahn,    Das  Leben  Mozart's,   trans,  by  Pauline 
D.    Townsend,  London,  1891,  ii,  226. 


The  German  Libretto  Prior  to  Wagner  21 

on  this  important  subject.^  He  observes  that  there  was  a  time 
when  music  and  poetry  were  united;  he  is  not  ready,  however, 
to  assert  that  their  separation  was  not  a  natural  process.  He 
laments  that  one  is  usually  treated  as  a  mere  auxiliary  to  the 
other,  where  they  ought  to  be  united  for  the  purpose  of  creating 
the  greatest  possible  effect;  nevertheless,  he  finds  it  reasonable 
that  bad  poetry  is  used  by  composers,  not  because  it  is  bad,  but, 
in  not  being  succinct  and  terse,  it  better  fits  their  purpose. 
Lessing  merely  theorizes,  but  has  no  suggestions  to  offer. 

Mozart's  two  most  important  German  operas  are  very  poor 
from  the  viewpoint  of  their  texts.  The  "  Entfuehrung"  is  slightly 
constructed  as  a  drama,  and  the  story  is  put  together  with  weak 
materials.  It  was  presented  to  a  full  house  for  the  first  time 
on  July  13,  1782,  and  the  people  went  wild  with  enthusiasm.  In 
spite  of  Mozart's  protest  that  he  did  not  want  it  run  to  death, 
it  was  repeatedly  given,  regardless  of  the  intense  summer  heat. 
From  now  on  the  German  opera  was  firmly  established;  all 
criticism  was  silenced,  and  it  is  easily  understood  why  Goethe 
complains  that  all  else  in  this  line,  even  his  own  "Singspiele," 
was  put  into  the  shade.  An  English  version  of  the  piece  was 
given  at  Covent  Garden,  in  1827,  under  the  title  of  "The  Ser- 
aglio," but  so  many  liberties  were  taken,  both  with  text  and 
music,  that  it  can  hardly  be  identified. 

Mazart's  last  German  work  was  the  famous  "Zauberfloete," 
finished  shortly  before  his  death,  in  1791.  Schinkaneder,  born 
in  poverty,  in  1751,  almost  illiterate,  but  possessed  of  wit  and 
a  good  talent,  gave  the  text  to  Mozart  with  the  request  to  put  it 
into  music.  The  piece,  really  supposed  to  have  been  written 
by  K.  L.  Gieseke,  is  based  on  Wieland's  "Dschinnistan."  The 
plot  is  weak,  it  contains  many  contradictions  and  the  characters 
are  anything  but  human.  The  verse  is  poor,  Schikaneder's 
stage  effects  and  Mozart's  music  make  it  what  it  is,  else  it  would 
not  be  worth  mentioning.  There  was  a  great  contrast  between 
its  reception  and  that  of  the  "Entfuehrung,"  in  tiiat  it  came 
dangerously  near  to  being  a  failure.  Repeated  performances, 
however,  increased  its  popularity,  and  on  October  22,  1795, 
Schikaneder  reported   its  two   hundredth   representation.     This 


1  Laokoon,  Entwuerfe  und  Fragmente,  Cotta  Ed.,  x,  p.  222  f. 


22  The  German  Libretto  Prior  to  Wagner 

popularity,  no  doubt,  attracted  the  attention  of  Goethe,  who 
made  the  following  statement  on  the  subject  to  Wranitzky,  on 
January  24,   1796:  "The  favor   with   which   the   'Zauberfioete' 
has  been  received,  and  the  difficult}^  of  writing  a  piece  able  to 
compete  with  it,  has  suggested  to  me  the  idea  of  finding  in  it  the 
subject  for  a  new  work.     I  wish  to  meet  the  preference  of  the 
public  half  way,  and  to  simplify  the  performance  of  a  new  and 
complicated  piece,  both  for  the  actors  and  the  theatrical  man- 
agement.    I  believe  I  shall  best  attain  this  end  by  writing  a 
second  part  to  the  'Zauberfloete.'     The  characters  are  familiar 
to  the  public  and  the  actors,  and,  having  the  earlier  piece  before 
me,  it  will  be  possible  to  heighten  the  climax  in  the  situations 
and  events  without  exaggerating  them.     Thus,  I  expect  to  give 
life  and  interest  to  the  whole  piece."     That  Goethe  wrote  this 
second  part  in  fragmentary  form  is  well  known,  but  it  has  rightly 
been  pointed  out  ^  that  there  is  something  pathetic  in  the  author 
of    "Faust"    thus   taking   up    Schikaneder's   production.     Both 
Goethe  and  Schiller  were  enough  interested  in  the  opera  as  a 
form  of  art  to  give  it  their  attention  even  when  it  had  been 
carried  out  with  such  miserable  craftsmanship.     They  speak  of 
it  repeatedly  in  their  letters,^  and  it  is  deplorable  that  circum- 
stances never  brought  them  together  with  some  one  of  the  great 
composers.     Herder  defends  the  moral  tendency  of  the  "Zauber- 
floete,"^ speaking  of  its  theme  as  "Light  in  the  struggle  with 
darkness,"  and  calling  attention  to  the  fact  that,  though  the 
verse  is  mere  doggerel,  some  of  its  songs  have  taken  a  strong 
hold  on  the  public  conscience. 

The  next  composer  to  consider  is  Beethoven.  When  sixteen 
years  old,  he  was  introduced  to  Mozart  and  played  a  piece  for 
him,  which  he  received  rather  coldly,  whereupon  the  young 
man  asked  the  master  for  a  theme.  Having  received  it,  he  played 
so  remarkably,  giving  such  flight  to  phantasy,  that  Mozart  went 
into  an  adjoining  room  and  said  to  his  friends  assembled  there, 
"Keep  an  eye  on  him,  some  day  he  will  make  the  whole  world 


1  Kuerschner  Edition,  Goethe,  vii,  415. 

^Goethe  and  Schiller  Brief wechsel,  Cotta  Ed.,  letters  144,  396,  426,  543,  815, 
860,  868. 

^Adrastea  Hempel  Edition,  xiv,  286. 


The  German  Libretto  Prior  to    Wagner  23 

speak  of  him."  This  prophecy  has  been  fulfilled  long  since, 
though  so  far  as  our  subject  is  concerned,  Beethoven  comes  into 
consideration  only  with  one  work — "Fidelio."  Curiously  enough, 
it  was  Schikaneder  again  who  instigated  the  creation  of  a  Ger- 
man opera  in  this  case.  Beethoven  always  had  special  interest 
in  this  form  of  art  and  he  was  easily  persuaded  to  undertake 
the  task.  He  had  many  plans  and  intended  even  to  put  Shakes- 
pere's  "Macbeth"  and  Goethe's  "Faust"  into  music.  Once  in 
his  life  he  even  offered  himself  to  the  directors  of  the  theatre 
with  the  promise  to  write  at  least  one  great  opera  annually  and 
besides,  one  operetta,  divertissement  and  choruses.  Collin 
began  with  the  arrangement  of  the  text  of  "Macbeth,"  which 
was  never  finished,  but  no  one  was  found  willing  to  arrange 
"Faust"  as  an  opera  text.  In  1815,  Beethoven  began  the  com- 
position of  Treitschke's  "Romulus,"  but  never  finished  it.  At 
the  time  of  his  death  he  was  engaged  upon  Grillparzer's  "Melu- 
sina,"  but  it  never  saw  the  light,  and  since  his  death  nothing  has 
been  heard  of  it.  Beethoven's  field  was  in  another  direction;  in 
spite  of  his  many  plans,  he  had  not  the  strong  inward  prompt- 
ings for  the  opera  vv^hich  characterized  Mozart. 

His  only  production,  "Fidelio,"  is  based  on  Bouilly's  "Leonore, 
ou  I'amour  conjugal."  This  seemed  to  be  a  worthy  subject  to 
the  artist,  who  confessed  that  he  had  a  strong  desire  to  glorify 
conjugal  love.  The  text,  as  it  is  now  known,  went  through 
several  changes.  Written  by  Sonnleithner,  it  seems  to  have 
been  composed  of  three  acts,  which  Stephen  Breuning  worked 
over  into  two,  causing  Beethoven  no  little  trouble  to  adapt  the 
music  anew.  After  the  opera  had  been  given  several  times,  not 
with  the  success  which  it  deserved,  it  remained  neglected  for 
almo.st  eight  years.  Beethoven  then  requested  Fr.  Treitschke 
to  revise  the  text  once  more,  which  he  did,  with  Sonnleithner's 
permission.  He  rewrote  the  dialogue  almost  entirely,^  but  the 
opera,  in  its  present  form,  was  not  finished  until  1814.  The 
neces.sity  of  these  repeated  changes  in  the  text  gives  evidence 
of  its  poverty,  and  even  now  "Fidelio"  is  great  only  in  music. 
As  yet  there  is  no  advance  in  the  quality  of  the  libretto. 

It  is  not  surpri.sing  that  the  Romantic  movement,  whicii  in- 

1  For  the  whole  revision,  cf.  Treitschke's  report,  reprinted  in  Wasielewski, 
L.  von  Beethoven,  Berlin,  p.  2.59. 


(/ 


24  The  German  Libretto  Prior  to  Wagner 

fluenced  so  many  other  fields  of  human  thought  and  activity, 
should  also  have  touched  that  of  music.  Zelter,  in  his  relation 
to  Goethe's  lyrics,  Franz  Schubert,  Loewe  and,  in  a  certain  sense, 
Mendelssohn,  Schumann  and  Robert  Franz,  are  the  foremost 
lyrical  composers.  Somewhat  later,  but  none  the  less  intense, 
this  influence  came  upon  the  operatic  stage,  brought  about  chiefly 
by  Spohr  and  Weber.  Louis  Spohr,  though  only  two  years 
older  than  Weber,  was  the  first  to  follow  in  the  path  of  Romanti- 
cism. 

His  chief  operatic  works  were  "Faust"  (1815),  "Zemire  und 
Azor"  (1821),  and  "Jessonda"  (1823),  but,  like  so  many  others, 
he  was  unfortunate  in  the  choice  of  his  texts.^  Spohr  made  a 
decided  mistake  when  he  took  Kotzebue's  old  and  forgotten 
play  for  an  opera.  When  Gounod's  "Faust"  displaced  Spohr's 
opera  of  the  same  name,  it  was  not  alone  the  music  of  the  French- 
man which  gave  greater  prominence  to  his  production,  for  the 
extremely  weak  libretto  was  much  to  blame.  The  Romantic 
movement  brought  no  change  for  the  better  along  these  lines, 
a  fact  which  is  also  illustrated  in  C.  M.  von  Weber's  works.  "Pre- 
ciosa,"  written  by  Alexander  Wolff,  would  be  lost  in  utter  obliv- 
ion were  it  not  for  Weber's  music.  "Euryanthe"  never  had  the 
success  it  deserved  because  the  libretto  is  too  weak  to  carry  it 
through;  Helmine  von  Chezy,  its  author,  lacked  in  dramatic 
craftsmanship  from  more  than  one  point  of  view.  "Abu  Hassan," 
written  by  Hiemer  and  taken  from  the  "Arabian  Nights,"  is  full 
of  nonsense,  though  it  amuses  by  its  ligtitheartedness  and  gaiety 
of  spirit.^  The  text  of  "Oberon"  is  adapted  from  Wieland's 
poem  of  the  same  name,  it  is  most  fantastic,  without  any  strict 
order  of  succession  either  in  the  matter  of  time  or  locality.'^  The 
"Frieschuetz"  has  outlived  all  of  Weber's  operas.  It  was  written 
by  Friedrich  Kind,*  and  is  Romantic  in  every  sense  of  the  term. 
Thus,  we  have  seen  that  now  and  then  new  German  operas  were 
appearing,  but  the  quality  of  the  texts  remained  ever  the  same. 
We  are  now  ready  to  look  into  Wagner's  work. 

iDr.  H.  M.  Schletterer:  "L.  Spohr,"  in  Sammlung  Musikalischer  Vor- 
traege,  Dritte  Reihe,  p.  129. 

2C/.  Annesley,  Stawlard  Opera  Glass,  London,  p.  1. 

3  Cf.  Annesley,  supra,  p.  185. 

*For  the  relation  of  Kind's  opera  to  Apel's  novel,  "Der  Freischuetz,"  cf- 
Ambros,  Bunte  Blaetter,  p.  1 ;  and  Bunte  Blaetter,  Neue  Folge,  p.  93.  Cf.  also , 
Langhans,  supra,  ii,  361. 


CHAPTER  I 

RICHARD     WAGNER — GENESIS     AND     CONCEPTION     OF     HIS     WORK. 
STATEMENT    OF   THE    SUBJECT 

In  1821,  when  the  "Freischuetz"  was  written,  Richard  Wagner 
was  eight  years  old.  He  had  a  natural  gift  for  language,  which, 
in  his  earlier  years,  drew  him  more  to  poetry  than  to  music. 
In  1822,  he  entered  the  "Kreuzschule"  and  made  rapid  progress 
in  the  study  of  the  classical  languages,  and  especially  of  Greek. 
When  eleven  years  old,  one  of  his  poems  outclassed  all  others, 
and  was  subsequently  printed.  He  learned  English  with  ease, 
and  as  a  mere  lad  read  Shakespere.  He  presently  wrote  a 
tragedy  based  on  "Hamlet"  and  "Lear."  This  was  crude 
enough,  to  be  sure,  for  he  relates,  humorously,  that  forty-two 
persons  died  in  the  first  acts,  forcing  him  to  let  most  of  them  re- 
turn as  ghosts,  else  he  would  not  have  had  enough  persons  for  the 
last  act.^  His  relatives  spoke  of  him  as  a  coming  poet  until, 
when  fourteen  years  old,  his  real  musical  gifts  were  shown.  In 
the  "Gewandhaus  Concerts"  he  heard  Beethoven's  music  and 
at  once  the  desire  came  to  him  to  create  something  similar.  In 
his  subsequent  development,  nevertheless,  he  was  neither  ex- 
clusively poet  nor  exclusively  musician.  Later  in  life  he  says:^ 
"In  my  musical  studies  I  could  never  rid  myself  of  the  poetic 
impulse,  though  it  became  subservient  to  music.  Thus  I  recall, 
having  been  incited  by  a  pastoral  symphony,  that  I  set  to  work 
on  a  pastoral  which  in  its  dramatic  aspects  was  influenced  by 
Goethe's  "Laune  des  Verliebten."  I  made  no  draft  of  the  text, 
but  wrote  text  and  music  simultaneously,  intrusting  the  develop- 
ment of  the  various  situations  to  chance." 

When  Wagner  was  twenty-one  years  old  he  sounded  for  tiie 
first  time  the  key-note  to  his  subsequent  reform  of  the  opera. 
In  a  magazine  article  he  complained  that  the  Germans,  liad  no 

1  Gesammelle  Schriften,  x,  8. 
2/Wrf.,  iv,  312. 

25 


26  Genesis  and  Conception  of  Wagner's  Work 

opera.  ^  This  was  literally  true.  The  operatic  stage  had  again 
deteriorated.  Most  musical  theatres  were  supplied  with  trans- 
lations of  French  and  Italian  operas,  and  in  Dresden,  German 
operas  were  even  translated  into  Italian  before  they  were  pro- 
duced, until  Weber  insisted  that  they  be  given  in  the  original.^ 
But  this  was  not  all.  Wagner  was  convinced  that  if  the  opera 
was  to  achieve  something  effective,  it  would  have  to  be  liberated 
from  the  thralldom  of  miserable  libretti.  In  1833,  he  went  to 
Wuerzburg,  where  his  older  brother,  Albert,  was  engaged  as 
singer,  actor  and  manager.  Here  he  made  his  first  acquaintance 
with  the  theatre  and  wrote  his  first  opera,  "Die  Feen,"  following 
Gozzi's  fairy  tale,  "La  donna  serpente."  In  1834,  he  composed 
his  second  opera,  "Das  Liebesverbot,"  founded  on  Shakespere's 
"IMeasure  for  Measure."  Both  works  were  unsuccessful;  the 
"Feen"  was  never  produced,  and  the  "Liebesverbot"  only  once, 
in  Magdeburg,  March  29,  1836.  While  hving  in  Koenigsberg 
and  Riga,  he  struggled  for  existence  and  had  to  do  work  which 
was  extremely  uncongenial  to  him,  but  he  was  never  without 
great  plans.  Thus,  "Die  hohe  Braut,"  a  novel  of  H.  Koenig, 
inspired  him  to  make  of  it  a  great  opera  of  five  acts.  He  actually 
sent  a  complete  draft  of  it  to  Scribe,  in  Paris/-with  the  request  to 
work  it  out  in  French  for  the  grand  opera  there,  and  to  see  that 
he  be  appointed  to  write  the  music.  This  scheme  failed,  but  un- 
daunted, Wagner  worked  the  material  over  into  the  form  which 
was  subsequently  set  to  music  by  Johann  Fr.  Kittl  (1809-68), 
under  the  title,  "Bianca  und  Giuseppe,  oder  die  Franzosen  von 
Nizza."  ^  Soon  after  this  he  read  Bulwer's  "Rienzi,"  which  he 
used  for  an  opera,  and  with  the  completion  of  this  ends  the  first 
period  of  Wagner,  the  librettist.  The  three  pieces  so  far  men- 
tioned were  made  after  the  manner  of  the  regular  libretti. 

Finding  no  stage  for  "Rienzi,"  Wagner  resolved  to  try  his 
fortunes  in  Paris,  where  Gluck,  fifty  years  before  him,  and  Meyer- 
beer, his  contemporary,  were  so  eminently  successful.  On  his 
four  week's  journey  thither  by  sea  he  resolved  to  use  "Der 
fliegende  Hollaender"  for  an  opera.     Disappointments  in  France 

iZeitung  fuer  die  elegante  Welt,  Wagner's  article:   "Die  Deutsche  Oper." 
^Bayreuther  Blaetter,  viii,  203. 
3Langhans,  supra,  u,  470. 


Genesis  and  Conception  of  Wagner's  Work  27 

came  heavy  and  fast,  and  as  a  last  resource,  prompted  b}-  ]\Ieyer- 
beer,  he  offered  the  draft  of  the  "Hollaender"  to  the  director  of 
the  grand  opera.  He  expected,  of  course,  to  receive  the  commis- 
sion of  setting  it  to  music.  After  waiting  a  whole  year  for  an 
answer,  he  learned  that  the  subject  had  indeed  been  used  for  a 
French  text,  but  someone  else  had  been  entrusted  with  the  com- 
position of  the  music.  His  anger  was  somewhat  assuaged  when 
he  was  offered  five  hundred  franks  and  the  privilege  of  using  the 
material  himself  if  he  chose  to  do  so.  He  immediately  set  to 
work  on  a  German  text  and  completed  the  music  in  seven  weeks. 
This  is  the  opera  in  which  Wagner  found  himself.  He  knew 
that  his  conceptions  were  at  variance  with  the  traditional  opera 
in  Germany,  and  from  a  mere  librettist  he  now  became  a  poet. 
His  work  was  not  received  with  the  enthusiasm  which  it  deserved, 
but  unmindful  of  the  outcome,  he  wrote  "Tannhaeuser,"  in 
1844,  continuing  along  the  same  lines.  In  1845,  he  drafted 
"Lohengrin"  and  the  "Meistersinger  zu  Nuernberg."  Then 
came  the  year  1848,  which  was  of  such  great  importance  to  him 
and  to  his  future. 

He  had  already  conceived  the  plan  of  working  the  Nibelung 
material  into  dramatic  form,  but  felt  that  before,  or  at  least 
while  doing  so,  he  would  have  to  explain  his  newly-conceived 
views  on  art  in  special  essays.  "Art  and  Revolution,"  accord- 
ingly, was  printed  in  September,  1849.  In  a  letter  dated  Septem- 
ber 16,  he  advised  Uhlig,  an  intimate  friend,  to  get  a  copy  so 
soon  as  it  should  leave  the  press,  since  it  was  intended  merely  as 
a  precursor  to  works  of  greater  detail,  namely,  "The  Art  Work 
of  the  I^uture"  and  "The  Artists  of  the  Future."  "If  I  accom- 
plish this  to  my  satisfaction,  I  shall  then  set  to  work  at  the  music 
of  my  'Siegfried,'  for  that  is  what  I  desire  with  all  the  sincerity 
of  my  soul."  "Siegfried's  Death"  was  all  that  at  this  time 
existed  of  the  "Ring."  This  was  subsequently  considerably 
changed,  and  is  now  known  as  "Goetterdaemmerung."  The 
work  was  dropped,  however,  because  it  was  no  longer  in  har- 
mony with  Wagner's  inner  life,  nor  with  the  unhapi)y  political 
condition  at  the  time.  liesides  several  other  plans,  Wagner 
had  conceived  a  dramatization  of  "Jesus  of  Nazareth,"  '  which 


1  Cf.  Letter  to  Uhlig,  August  9,  1849. 


28  Genesis  and  Conception  of  Wagner's  Work 

though  quite  maturely  thought  out,  was  also  dropped  because  he 
felt  the  impossibility  of  receiving  a  public  hearing  for  such  a 
subject.^ 

On  a  spring  morning  Wagner  left  Dresden,  went  to  Paris  and 
from  there  to  Switzerland,  where  he  remained  for  nine  years, 
returning  then  to  Paris.  Almost  simultaneously  with  the  con- 
ception of  "Siegfried's  Death,"  he  had  conceived  the  idea  of  creat- 
ing an  opera  on  "Wieland  der  Schmied."  In  a  letter  to  Uhlig, 
dated  December  27,  1849,  he  states  that  he  will  be  in  Paris  by  the 
sixteenth  of  the  next  month,  and  will  then  take  up  the  com- 
pleted opera  scheme  of  ''Wieland."  That  this  intention  was  not 
carried  out  is  shown  by  a  letter,  written  about  one  month  later, 
in  which,  among  other  things,  he  says:  "From  the  Alps  I  will 
write  you  a  German  'Wieland'  which  the  people,  some  day, 
will  understand."  Even  in  Paris  he  worked  at  it,  however, 
though  with  slight  progress  and  under  difficulties.  "With 
endless  trouble,"  he  writes,  "I  forced  myself  to  my  'Wieland;' 
it  sounded  to  me  like  comment  vous  portez-vous?  The  ink 
would  not  flow,  the  pen  scratched,  the  weather  was  bad  and 
dull."  Eight  months  later  he  was  entirely  estranged  from  this 
subject,  as  a  letter  to  Princess  Wittgenstein  shows.^  In  it  he 
writes:  "The  poem  ('Wieland')  in  its  present  condition,  and 
as  I  now  hand  it  over  to  you,  is  the  production  of  a  painful  and 
deeply-moving  inspiration.  ...  It  takes  me  back  to  a  time  in 
which  I  no  longer  wish  to  be  placed,  I  cannot  now  finish  the 
work,  either  in  poetry  or  music ;  even  if  I  should  find  tranquillity 
to  work  at  it  again,  I  fear  to  have  grown  cold  toward  it. 
Thus  I  have  recently  accustomed  myself  to  the  thought  of  giving 
it  up  entirely."  In  his  exile  and  sojourn  from  place  to  place, 
in  his  conceptions  of  ever  new  plans,  Wagner  had  never  wholly 
given  up  the  Nibelung  material. 

The  year  1848  was  important  to  Wagner  in  another  respect. 
Before  leaving  Dresden  he  formed  a  closer  acquaintance  with 
Franz  liszt,  to  whom  he  had  been  introduced  eight  years  before.^ 


1  Published  in  1887,  by  Siegfried  Wagner,  under  the  title:    Ein  dichter- 
ischer  Entwurf  aus  dem  Jahre  1848."     Breitkopf  und  Haertel. 
^Wagner-List  Briefwechsel,  i,   101. 
3  Letter,  March  24,  1841. 


Genesis  and  Conception  of  Wagner's  Work  29 

This  friendship  has  been  compared  with  that  of  Goethe  and 
Schiller,  and  rightly  so.^  Liszt  continually  urged  Wagner  to 
complete  his  "Siegfried,"  though  he  naturally  was  unconscious 
of  the  wealth  of  material  which  the  poet-musician  would  yet 
produce.  Misunderstood  by  the  public  in  general  and  ridiculed 
by  his  enemies,  Wagner  at  this  time  was  sick  at  heart.  The 
time  had  not  yet  come  to  give  his  ideas  an  appreciative  hearing. 
Referring  both  to  his  theoretical  writings  and  to  the  operas  so 
far  produced,  he  writes:^  "My  literary  attempt  to  set  myself 
right  with  the  world,  and  to  explain  these  ideas  of  mine,  could 
only  be  looked  upon  in  my  own  country  as  the  outpourings  of 
an  eccentric  opera-composer — performances  to  be  as  promptly 
as  possible  consigned  to  oblivion,  and  coming  from  a  man  whom 
the  fever  of  the  revolution  had  hurried  into  the  wildest  fancies; 
and  whose  exile,  besides,  had  already  put  a  complete  end  to 
his  possibilities  as  an  artist.  I  was  in  a  fair  way  to  become 
utterly  isolated  .  .  .  and  to  be  driven  back  to  absolute  despair 
.  .  .  but  for  that  craving  which  is  always  active  in  the  human 
mind  for  some  possibility  of  communicating  its  feelings  to  a 
sympathetic  intelligence,  when  suddenly  the  brightest  hopes 
were  rekindled  in  me  ...  by  the  discovery  of  a  new,  and  only, 
artist  friend.  In  Weimar,  the  little  poet-town  of  Thuringia, 
something  had  happened  which  was  to  have  the  most  important 
and  lasting  effect  upon  my  art  life.  A  great  artist,  who  under- 
stood me  and  my  work  fully  and  thoroughly,  Franz  Liszt,  had 
for  the  first  time  produced  my  'Lohengrin,'  which  I  had  already 
learned  to  lament  over  as  a  work  the  hopes  of  whose  appearance 
mu.st  be  finally  abandoned.  .  .  .  This  bold  venture  was  the 
beginning  of  the  formation  of  an  association  of  friends  and 
co-workers  which  at  first  clustered  around  the  honored  person 
of  the  great  master.  Taught  and  encouraged  by  him,  a  l)an(l 
of  adherents  sprang  up  to  support  my  aims  in  art,  neglected  and 
despised  though  they  were  by  the  world  at  large.  Though  my 
writings  migiit  not  be  read  in  Germany,  and  my  works  never 
produced  there,  here  was  a  true  art-life  for  me;  here  was  the 
foundation  laid  for  a  future;  here  was  something  beginning  to 


^Schiller-Goethe  Brief wechscl,  Cotta  Edition,  i,  4. 

2"Wori<  and  .Mission  of  My  Life,"  North  American  Review,  1870,  article  2. 


30  Genesis  and  Conception  of  Wagner's  Work 

develop  which  might  give  me  a  hopeful  presage  of  my  long- 
dreamed-of  idea  of  a  nation  art-inspired.  And  from  this  circle 
there  now  came  to  me  my  friend's  appeal  to  finish  for  him,  and 
this  people  gathered  about  him,  my  new  work  formed  from  the 
vast  Nibelung  legend — my  tragedy  of  'Siegfried.'" 

To  show  Wagner's  moods  and  Liszt's  untiring  encouragement, 
and  hence,  the  important  part  which  he,  no  doubt  consciously, 
played  in  the  development  of  our  drama,  it  may  suffice  to  add 
a  few  extracts  from  the  correspondence  of  the  two  men.  Liszt 
writes:^  "I  am  very  happy  that  you  will  not  give  up  your 
'Siegfried,'  which  certainly  will  be  'una  gran  bella  cosa!'  as  the 
Italians  say.  I  rejoice  to  think  of  it."  And,  "Germany  is  your 
inheritance — and  you  its  glory!  Finish  your  'Siegfried'  soon: 
you  are  richly  endowed  with  power  and  genius,  but  be  sure  not 
to  lose  patience."  Moods  of  despondency  came  over  Wagner  at 
this  time,  due  to  absolute  financial  destitution,  but  Liszt  com- 
forted him  in  every  extremity,  not  only  with  glowing  words, 
but  with  material  aid.  To  this  "Siegfried"^  owes  much.  "I 
had  again  become  cold  and  diffident,  and  the  thought  of  entering 
upon  a  new  work  of  art  created  in  me  but  disdainful  mockery. 
Artistic  indolence  far  and  wide  about  me  is  so  great,  my  mood 
so  hopeless,  that  just  now  I  can  only  consider  myself  a  joke 
when  thinking  of  the  compositions  of  my  'Siegfried.'  This 
mood  affected  all  my  other  works.  .  .  .  But  now  you  come 
near  me  again,  you  have  touched  and  transported,  you  have 
warmed  and  inspired  me  so  that  I  swam  in  tears  and  suddenly 
knew  no  higher  passion  than  to  be  an  artist  and  to  create  works. 
The  influence  you  have  had  upon  me  is  simply  inexpressible; 
round  about  me  I  see  nothing  save  verdant  spring,  germinating 
and  sprouting  life;  and  along  with  this,  so  passionate  a  grief, 
such  painfull}^  intoxicating  passion,  such  joy  to  be  a  human 
being  and  to  feel  a  palpitating  heart,  that  I  only  lament  the 
necessity  of  having  to  write  you  all  this."^ 

That  Wagner  worked  sincerely  at  his  Nibelung  material, 
thoroughly  revising  his  old  conceptions  and  gaining  new  ones, 


1  Briefwechsel,  October,  1850,  i,  lO-t. 

2  Briefwechsel,  January  ,3,  1851,  i,  114. 

3  Briefwechsel,  April  18,  1851,  i,  122. 


Genesis  and  Conce'ption  of  Wagnefs  Work  31 

is  made  evident  by  the  fact  that  he  now  meets  difficulties  which 
are  always  a  sign  of  progress.  His  former  plan  threatens  to  go 
to  pieces  in  two  respects:  He  does  not  yet  know  how  to  give  his 
material  other  than  epic  form,  and  the  action  of  the  play  presup- 
posed too  many  things  ye.i  unmentioned,  which,  in  some  way 
or  other,  he  must  present  to  the  spectator.  Thereupon  he  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  creating  "Der  junge  Siegfried"  which  was  to 
precede  "Siegfried's  Death."  and  was  to  explain  much  that  is 
merely  alluded  to  in  the  latter  drama.  But  even  this  was  not 
satisfactory,  and  "tortured  by  these  feelings,"  he  hit  upon  the 
idea  of  a  trilog}'  with  an  introduction,  as  we  now  have  it.  Dis- 
closing these  difficulties  to  his  friends,^  he  bids  them  farewell, 
with  the  prediction  that  they  will  not  see  him  again  until  he 
shall  appear  with  his  completed  work. 

We  have  another  reference  to  Wagner's  works  where  he  ex- 
plains his  difficulties  and  the  subsequent  solution  of  his  problem 
even  more  clearly  than  in  the  one  just  mentioned.  In  a  long 
letter  to  Liszt  ^  he  says:  "This  young  'Siegfried,'  too,  is  only 
a  fragment,  and  as  a  unit  in  itself,  it  can  in  no  wise  make  a  posi- 
tive and  undoubted  impression  until  it  receives  its  proper  place 
in  the  completed  work  which,  according  to  my  present  plan, 
I  shall  assign  to  it  in  'Siegfried's  Death.'  In  both  of  these  dramas 
an  abundance  of  necessary  relations  was  assigned  to  mere  narra- 
tion or  given  to  the  auditor  in  such  a  manner  that  he  had  to 
make  his  own  combinations;  all  those  details  which  gave  the 
action  and  the  actors  such  infinite,  stirring  and  far-reaching 
importance,  had  to  be  omitted  from  presentation  and  com- 
municated to  mere  thought.  According  to  my  present  inmost 
conviction,  it  is  possible  for  the  drama  to  have  its  true  effect 
only  when  the  intention  of  dramatic  poetry  is  exclusively  im- 
parted to  the  senses  in  all  important  aspects;  hence  I,  least  of 
all,  dare  to  transgress  against  this  truth.  Now,  in  order  to  be 
fully  understood,  this  very  observation  forces  me  to  present  the 
whole  mythos  in  its  deepest  and  broadest  signihcation,  in  its 
highest  artistic  lucidity.  Nothing  nmst  remain  to  be  sui)plo- 
mented  either  by  thought  or  reflection;  through  its  own  artistic 


•  "Mitteiluii^  an  inoine  Freunde." 

^  Brief wechsel,  November  20,  1.S51,  i,  147. 


32  '     Genesis  and  Conception  of  Wagner's  Work 

perceptibility,  each  unaffected  human  emotion  must  be  able  to 
comprehend  the  whole  work,  and  when  this  is  accomplished,  each 
unit  of  the  whole  will  be  rightly  understood.  In  my  mj^hos, 
therefore,  two  chief  aspects  remain  to  be  presented,  both  of  which 
are  alluded  to  in  'Joung  Siegfried':  the  first  in  the  narration  of 
Brunnhild  after  her  awakening  (third  act),  the  second  in  the 
scene  between  Alberich  and  the  Wanderer,  in  the  second,  and 
between  the  Wanderer  and  Mime,  in  the  first  act.  If  you  ex- 
amine these  materials  somewhat  closely,  you  can  easily  under- 
stand that  it  was  not  only  artistic  reflection,  but  chiefly  the 
excellent  and  productive  material  which  led  me  to  present  it. 
Think  of  the  wonderful,  disastrous  love  of  Siegmund  and  Sieg- 
linde,  of  Wotan,  in  his  deep,  mysterious  relation  to  this  love; 
think  of  him  in  his  estrangement  from  Fricka,  in  his  infuriated 
self-control  when  he,  in  accordance  with  custom,  decrees  Sieg- 
mund's  death;  think  of  the  stately  valkyr,  Brunnhild,  how  she, 
apprehending  Wotan's  inmost  thoughts,  defies  the  God  and  is 
punished  by  him;  think  of  this  wealth  of  suggestions  as  material 
for  a  drama  preceding  'Siegfried,'  as  I  refer  to  it  in  the  scene 
between  Wanderer  and  Wala,  and  again,  with  greater  elucidation, 
in  Brunnhild's  narration,  and  you  will  understand  that  it  was 
not  only  mere  reflection,  it  was  inspiration  which  gave  me  my 
newest  plan.  Now  this  plan  is  intended  for  three  dramas:  1. 
'Die  Walkuere;'  2.  'Die  junge  Siegfried;'  3.  'Siegfried's  Tod.' 
But  to  give  these  dramas  completely,  it  is  necessary  to  supply 
them  with  a  great  prelude:  'Der  Raub  des  Rheingolds.'  This 
prelude  is  to  contain  everything  that  appears  as  narration  in 
'Jung  Siegfried:'  The  robbery  of  the  Rheingold,  the  origin  of  the 
Nibelungenhort,  its  abduction  by  Wotan,  and  the  curse  of  Albe- 
rich. Through  this  lucidity  of  presentation  all  broad  narration 
will  be  dropped,  or  will  at  least  be  concentrated  into  concise 
moments;  moreover,  I  shall  thus  gain  abundant  space  to  inten- 
sify most  thrillingly  the  wealth  of  relationships,  whilst  in  my 
earlier,  half  epic  presentation,  I  was  obliged  to  curtail  everything 
most  laboriously,  thereby  weakening  the  whole." 

This  was  written  in  1851,  and  gives  a  fair  idea  of  the  vast 
development  of  the  drama  within  the  last  three  important  A'ears. 
In  letters  to  Uhlig,  in  October,  1851,  and  especially  in  the  one 
dated  November  12,  1851,  he  also  discusses  his  difficulties  in  a 


Genesis  and  Conception  of  Wagner's  Work  33 

manner  to  throw  additional  light  on  our  knowledge  of  the  genesis 
of  the  work.  Here  we  learn  that  he  had  sketched  the  whole 
mythos  in  its  gigantic  sequence  before  writing  "Siegfried's 
Death,"  and  in  thus  working  it  up,  all  changes  had  to  come 
slowly,  but  logically,  one  step  necessitating  the  next.  What  he 
calls,  in  his  correspondence  with  Liszt,  a  substitution  of  presen- 
tation for  narration,  he  here  describes  as  "Plastic  Style."  Then, 
again,  he  asks  for  a  copy  of  the  Voelsunga-Saga  (probably  the 
translation  made  by  von  den  Hagen).  On  November  20, 1851,  he 
sent  "Joung  Siegfried"  to  Liszt.  In  December,  1851,  he  was 
still  hard  at  work  on  the  whole  poem,  it  being  his  "only  salva- 
tion." In  March,  1852,  he  again  complained  of  being  "fright- 
fully fagged,"  but  says  that  in  the  face  of  spring,  and  going  to 
work  on  his  poem,  he  takes  fresh  courage.  In  Juh',  1852,  he 
thought  the  poem  would  not  be  done  before  fall.^  "I  must  care- 
fully retouch  the  two  'Siegfrieds,'  especially  in  everything  con- 
cerning the  myth  of  the  Gods,  for  this  has  now  assumed  a  more 
precise  and  imposing  aspect.  I  greatly  rejoice  at  the  thought 
of  the  music."  In  November  he  still  worked  at  "Joung  Sieg- 
fried," but  now  he  hoped  to  have  it  printed  soon:  "then  I  shall 
attack  'Siegfried's  Death.'  This  will  take  me  longer.  I  have 
two  scenes  in  it  to  write  afresh  (the  Norns  and  that  of  Brunnhild 
w'ith  the  Valkyries),  and  above  all,  the  close.  Besides  these, 
everything  needs  most  important  revision."  On  July  first, 
"Walkuere"  was  finished;  on  November  ninth,  "Rheingold" 
received  the  last  stroke  of  the  pen;  and  in  the  last  weeks  of  this 
important  year,  1852,  the  text  of  the  whole  work  was  practically 
completed.  On  February  11,  1853,  he  sent  the  complete  poem 
to'  Liszt. ^  About  six  months  previously  he  had  the  idea  of  print- 
ing it  in  twenty  or  thirty  copies  for  his  friends,  but  hesitated, 
for  financial  reasons.  On  July  22,  the  Haeitels,  to  whom  he 
had  addressed  himself  about  the  printing,  answered  that  it 
would  afford  them  the  greatest  pleasure  and  honor  if  he  would 
give  them  his  work  for  publication  when  ready.  On  August  9, 
he  begs  Uhlig  to  he  more  careful  in  handling  the  MS.  of  "Joung 
Siegfried"  about,  for  he  had   rc;ul  a  joke  in  tiie  Krcuzzrilung^ 

1  Letter  to  UhliR,  July  2,  1S52. 

2  Brief icechftel,  February  28,  1S,'",3,  i,  223. 

3  Tliis  new.spaper  joke  cliscourag«'il  liiin  frrcatly.     He  seem.s  to  have  accused 


34  Geriesis  and  Conception  of  Wagner's  Work 

about  the  Lindwurm  Fafner,  an  experience  which  made  him 
very  averse  to  carry  out  his  intention  of  distributing  copies  of 
the  whole  poem,  even  among  his  friends.^  Early  in  1853  the 
drama  was  printed,  for  a  letter  in  March  of  that  year  to  Ferdi- 
nand Heine  announces  that  Wagner  will  send  him  a  copy.^ 
From  now  on  little  was  done  on  the  work  for  ten  years,  when, 
in  1863,  it  was  published.  Changes  were  made  here  and  there, 
and  it  is  thus  made  clear  that  the  author  wrote,  recast  and 
revised  plan  and  text  for  a  period  of  almost  fifteen  years. 

The  musical  composition  went  through  a  similar  process. 
In  the  letter  just  referred  to,  he  tells  Liszt  that  the  composition 
is  not  yet  begun,  but  the  prospect  of  setting  music  to  all  this 
has  a  great  charm.  Though  nothing  had  yet  been  scored,  form 
and  outline  of  the  music  were  vividly  before  him;  and  early  in 
March,  1853,  expecting  a  visit  from  Liszt  in  the  near  summer 
months,  he  expresses  the  hope  of  being  able  to  show  him  a  few 
musical  sketches.  Again  he  is  seized  with  despondency — a 
mood  in  which  it  is  difficult  to  write  music  like  that  in  the  Nibe- 
lung  drama.  "Surrounded  by  tedium  and  dullness,  I  am  doomed 
to  perish.  Why  could  one  not  throw  all  this  overboard  and 
begin  an  entirely  new  life?  How  stupid  it  is,  after  all,  for  you 
to  drudge  and  toil  for  me — simply  to  help  me?  Ah,  no!  There 
is  no  help  for  me  in  this  fashion — help  at  best  for  my  'glory,' 
and  that  is  a  thing  entirely  distinct  from  my  own  real  self.  No 
correspondence  can  be  profitable  for  me  now,  and  my  whole  inter- 
course with  the  world  exists  on  paper  only — what  can  help  me? 
My  nights  are  mostly  sleepless — fagged  and  miserable  I  leave 
my  couch  to  stare  into  the  face  of  another  day  which  is  destined 
to  bring  me  not  one  single  satisfaction!  An  intercourse  which 
only  torments  me,  one  from  which  I  withdraw  only  to  be  again 
tormented  within  myself!  In  whatever  I  undertake,  loathing 
seizes  me.     Things  cannot  go  on  in  this  way!     I  do  not  care  to 

Liszt  of  carelessness  in  lending  the  manuscript.  The  latter  not  only  cleared 
himself  of  the  accusation,  but  urged  Wagner  on  in  his  usual  tender  way. 
Nevertheless,  it  has  not  been  made  quite  clear  how  the  newspapers  got 
possession  of  the  facts. 

1  Briefwechsel,  August  23,  1852,  i,  183. 

2  For  the  names  of  those  who  received  copies  of  this  small  edition,  c/.  Letter 
to  Liszt,  February  H,  1853,  Briefwechsel,  i,  214  f. 


Genesis  and  Conception  of  Wagner's  Work  35 

bear  life  any  longer."  ^  Such  moods  do  not  further  literary- 
intentions.  Lamenting  his  exile  and  his  various  adverse  experi- 
ences, he  breaks  out  from  the  depth  of  his  soul:  "Lord  forgive 
them,  for  they  know  not  what  they  do."  .  .  .  "My  mind  is  con- 
fused, I  crave  for  a  long,  long  sleep  from  which  I  desire  to  awake 
only  to  embrace  you."  ^  Liszt's  visit  a  few  weeks  later  gave  him 
great  encouragement.  L'pon  the  return  of  the  former  to  Weimar, 
he  weaves  bits  of  cheer  and  sunshine  into  his  letters  to  Wagner: 
"Con  doppio  movimento  senipre  crescendo  fffff!  This  we  shall 
witness  at  the  presentation  of  your  Nibelung  drama."  Never- 
theless, the  composition  did  not  progress  as  rapidly  as  he  had 
expected.  On  December  17,  1853,  he  writes  to  Liszt:  "It  is  now 
five  years  since  I  have  written  music.  Now  I  am  at  'Nibelheim,' 
Mime  lamented  his  troubles  to-day.  Last  month  I  was  un- 
happily seized  by  a  severe  cold,  so  that  I  could  not  work  for  ten 
days;  otherwise  I  should  certainly  have  finished  my  outlines 
this  year.  Yet  this  must  be  done  by  the  end  of  January."  ^  This 
expectation  was  fulfilled.*  "'Rheingold'  is  finished,  and  so  am 
I!"  Again  he  broods  over  and  bewails  his  poverty.  "Well, 
'Rheingold'  is  finished — more  finished  than  I  believed.  With 
what  confidence,  with  what  joy  did  I  go  at  the  music!  I  con- 
tinued and  finished  it  with  madness  of  despair;  alas,  how  much 
was  I,  too,  surrounded  by  the  want  of  gold — believe  me,  my  music 
is  frightful,  it  is  a  quagmire  of  horrors  and  sublimity."  A  month 
later  he  wrote  the  score  to  "Rheingold"  with  instrumentation. 
In  March  he  is  working  again  with  great  effort  and  thinks  that, 
if  he  could  get  some  one  to  write  out  his  sketches,  it  might  be 
done  in  two  years.'''  Early  in  June  he  expects  to  begin  "  Wal- 
kuere;"  in  Augu.st  the  second  act  is  scored;''  towards  the  end  of 
the  year  he  works  at  the  second  half  of  the  last  act ;  in  January, 
1855,  he  expects  to  begin  the  instrumentation  of  "Walkuere," 
but  it  lingered  on  for  over  a  year,  until,  on  April  29,  1856,  he 
writes  to  Uhlig:  "At  last  'Walkuere'  is  done.  Now  I  shall  soon 
set  to  work  on  my  'Joung  Siegfried.'"^      Herein   Wagner  was 

^  Brief wechscl,  i,  2.30.  6  Ilnrl.,  ii.   V.i. 

2  Ihid.,  i,  24.5.  7  Ibid.,  ii,  125. 

3/6i</.,  Decombnr  17,  18.5:},  i,  294. 
*  Ibid.,  January  1.5,  IH.54,  ii,  3. 
6  Ibid.,  March  4,  1854,  ii,  14. 


r 


36  Genesis  and  Conception  of  Wagner's  Work 

greatly  mistaken;  only  the  first  two  acts  of  "Siegfried"  were 
scored.^  Again  he  became  greatly  discouraged.  He  had  not 
even  a  hope  of  obtaining  a  publisher,  and  nothing  was  scored 
for  eight  years.  '  In  this  and  other  intermissions  "Tristan  and 
Isolde''  was  created.  Ultimately,  in  the  beginning  of  1869, 
"Siegfried"  was  finished,  and  in  1874  the  last  score  of  "Goet- 
terdaemmerung"  was  written.  Thus  Wagner's  "Ring"  went 
through  a  progression  of  revision  and  change,  both  in  poetry  and 
music,  for  a  period  of  twenty-six  years. 

If  for  no  other  reason,  this  fact  alone  would  merit  the  serious 
consideration  of  the  subject.  This  drama  is  not  a  work  of  mere 
chance,  it  was  not  dashed  off  in  a  hot  desire  for  fame  and  im- 
mortality, however  much  his  critics  have  thus  descried  it.  He 
had  definite,  well-matured  conceptions  of  his  art,  though  for  the 
mere  sake  of  bread  and  butter  he  was  sometimes  induced  to 
override  them.  Now,  however,  encouraged  by  Liszt  to  complete 
his  "Siegfried"  material,  and  having  at  last  published  these 
conceptions  for  all  who  cared  to  read  them,  he  had  cast  aside 
the  discouragement  that  adverse  criticism,  especially  that  of  a 
hostile  press,  had  caused,  and  had  again  become,  as  he  writes: 
"an  artist  purified  and  independent.  It  was  with  new  zest  that 
I  now  carried  out  my  new  plan  of  embodying  in  complete  poetic 
form  .  .  .  the  whole  wide-embracing  scheme  of  the  Nibelung 
myth.  ...  In  the  actual  carrying  out  of  my  undertaking,  I  be- 
came once  more  the  true,  untramm.eled  artist,  unfettered  by 
any  hesitation  or  questioning.  Since  I  had  freed  my  mind  of 
all  doubt  and  confusion,  by  my  theoretical  writings,  I  was  now 
once  more  able  to  go  on  in  the  way  I  had  begun,  with  an  artist's 
confidence,  to  embody  my  ideas  in  the  form  I  had  myself  thought 
out.  As  I  went  on  in  the  work  itself,  the  way  in  which  it  some- 
time must  be  presented  also  took  shape  in  my  mind.  And  when 
I  thought  of  the  one  single  possibility  of  an  appreciative  auditor 
offered  by  my  friend,  and  imagined  that  this  expanded  into 
general  appreciation,  my  boldly-conceived  plan  of  representation 
no  longer  seemed  a  mere  picture  of  fancy  to  me.  .  .  .  This 
example  ('Siegfried')  was  to  be  free  from  all  inartistic  influences, 
and    dependencies    of    the    wretched    conventional    stage.  .  .  . 


1  Done,  October  29,  1857;  cf.  letter  to  W.  Fischer. 


^ 


Genesis  and  Conception  of 


37 


(iependent."^ 

Ar,  precious 

gain,  pure 

otion  of  ray 
lost  d^isive 
tion    of   ray 

rmy,   but 

10  le  life 

ess  the  c 


This  example  should  stand  for  itself, 

In  a  letter  to  Liszt^  he  exclairas:    ''Y 

Liszt  1     I  owe  it  to  you  that  I  can  soon 

and  siraple.     I  look  upon  the  long-de 

artistic  plans,  to  which  I  now  retur 

moraents  of  my   life;  between  the"^Bprs 

'Lohengrin'   and   my   'Siegfried'   lie 

know,  a  prolific  world.     I  had  to 

lay  behind  me;  had  to  bring  to  a^^^BPr  co^ 

of  a  mere  apprehension  and,  in  order  to  place  myself  again  inT^ 

the    beautiful    unconsciousness    of    creative. art    with    definite, 

serene   purpos^   I   had   to   overcome  those   reflections  through 

themselves  which  had  necessarily  arisen  in  rae,  ardently  absorbing 

their  subject.     Thus,  this  winter,  I  shall  clear  away  everything 

entirely;  free  and  Ught,  without  a  burden,  I  shall  enter  a  new 

world,  into  which  I  shall  bring  nothing  save  a  happy  artistic 

conscience." 

Wagner  thus  had  the  intention  of  boldly,  yet  consciously, 
reaching  out  into  fields  untrodden  before  hira,  and  if  the  "Ring" 
was  to  exemplify  practically  what  he  had  been  teaching  theo- 
retically, we  may  be  sure  that  he  paid  as  much  attention  to  the 
language  in  which  it  was  written  as  to  the  music. 

In  approaching  our  subject,  we  meet,  at  the  outset,  with  one 
settled  fact:  that  there  is  namely  a  vast  difference  between 
Wagner's  general  style,  on  the  one  hand,  and  that  of  his  "Ring," 
on  the  other.  One  may  read  pages  of  this  prose  or  even  of  his 
other  poetry,  and  find  nothing  out  of  the  ordinary,  excluding, 
of  course,  such  recurrent  phrases  and  preferred  constructions 
as  are  peculiar  to  every  writer.  But  what  a  surprising  change 
of  language  appears  in  the  work  here  under  consideration!  How 
can  this  be  explained?  Nietzsche,  in  his  book,  "Richard  Wagner 
in  I^>eyruth,"  explains  it  with  reference  to  music.  "No  one  who 
ponders  and  reflects  on  Wagner  the  poet  must  forget  that  not 
one  of  his  dramas  has  been  designed  to  be  read,  hence  they  mu.st 
not  be  burdenerl  with  those  requirements  wiiich  arc  demanded 
of   the   word-draraa.      The   spectator   receives   every   acti(Mi   of 


i 


1  "Work  and  Mission  of  My  Life,"  sitf/ra,  article  2. 

2  Briefwechsel,  November  25,  1$50,  i,  106. 


I 


38  Genesis  oj^^^ception  of  Wagner's  Work 

a  Wagnerian  ^aiM^^K  three-fold  elucidation  with  highest 
perfection:  ki^fora^eg^re  and  music,  .  .  .  hence  the  author 
could  dispen§e  with  all  those  means  which  the  'word-poet'  finds 
necessary  to  give  his  action  warmth  and  power  of  illumination. 
HerevrhetoriQ^*  diffusen^qs^Kan  be  concentrated  into  compact- 
ness and  strength  of  rhetorical  speech."  Hans  von  Wolzogen^ 
ites  Nietzscl3|  views  and  accepts  them  without  reservation. 
Anred  Ernst  "  translates^ffi^ above  quotation  for  his  country- 
ra^n.     Giving  TlWestrict^BBrssent  to  Nietzsche's  view,   he  con- 

"  tinues:  "C'est  la  musique  ici,  non  la  parole,  qui  doit  ampHfier, 
prolonger,  d^velopper  les  significationes  avec  une  puissance  que 
le  drame  parle  ne  connaissait  point  jusque-la."  Chamberlain^ 
says:  "The  matter  in  c^uestion  is  not  some  'beauty'  of  language, 
nor  a  m.ore  or  less  copious  use  of  the  spoken  word;  the  decisive 
factor  is  the  conceptional  content  of  the  language.  Here  arises 
the  first  bad  misunderstanding.  ...  In  narration  this  language 
can  be  sparing,  extremely  determinative  in  characterization, 
and  of  great  pregnancy  in  emotional  precision,  simply  because 
it  is  connected  with  music."  No  one  will  deny  that  there  is  some 
justification  for  this  opinion,  but  it  does  not  go  far  enough,  nor 
does  it  explain  all  the  difficulties  that  appear.  We  are  told  over 
and  over  again  not  to  separate  the  music  from  the  text  in 
considering  the  language  of  the  work.  The  question,  there- 
fore, naturally  arises:  Is  there  no  other  test  for  Wagner's  lan- 
guage in  the  "Ring"?  Befor  proceeding  further,  we  must 
remember  what  has  been  shown  thus  far,  that  not  a  single  note 
had  been  written  when  the  poem  had  already  been  printed 
and  was  in  the  hands  of  the  author's  friends.  We  have  also  seen 
that  he  even  showed  considerable  reluctance  about  beginning  the 
musical  composition,  having  scored  nothing  for  five  full  years. 

/  Doubtless  his  strong  creative  genius  felt  the  spell  of 
music  while  the  poem  was  flowing  from  his  pen,  but  'to  explain 
his  language  by  music  exclusively,  and  especially  under  such  cir- 
cumstances, is  a  poor  appreciation  of  Wagner's  technique.  For 
a  long  time  he  was  at  a  loss  to  find  what  may  be  called  the  missing 
link  between  poetry  and  music.      What  this  was  we  shall  pres- 

1  Die  Sprache  in  R.  Wagner'x  Dichtungen.     Leipzig. 

2  L'art  de  R.  Wagner.     Paris,  1893,  65. 

3  Das  Drama  R.  Wagners,  Leipzig,  1892,  76  f . 


Genesis  and  Conception  of  Wagner's  Work  39 

* 

ently  see.  His  one  desire  was  to  move  the  emotions,  and  he 
reached  the  conclusion  that  neither  the  "word -drama"  alone, 
nor  music  alone  could  do  this,  but  that"  both  in  harmonious 
unity  represent  the  highest  achievement  »of  dramatic  art/'  Our 
personal  conviction  may  not  agree  with*'  him  in  this  respect, 
nevertheless  it  is  only  fair  and  justiko  judge  the  man  from  the 
viewpoint  of  his  own  conceptions.  It  is  true  tlfat  he  now  dis- 
cards, on  the  whole,  our  conventional  po^ic  forms,  he  is  coiv 
vinced  that  poetry  in  itself  is  not  ^5oligh/'''b^it  must  be  assis^ro 
by  a  life-giving  power.  "The  lyrics  of  Orpheus  could  not  have 
brought  the  wild  beasts  to  silence  and  peaceful  devotion  if  he 
had  only  given  them  printed  poems  to  read;  their  ears  must  be 
won  over  by  the  sympathetic  voice  of  the  heart,  and  their  eyes, 
gluttonously  spying  about  for  prey,  must  be  fascinated  by  the 
gracefully  moving  body  of  the  singer,  so  that,  unconsciously, 
they  might  behold  in  this  man  not  an  object  for  their  appetite, 
but  one  worthy  to  be  heard  and  seen  before  they  were  fit  to  give 
due  attention  to  his  moral  teaching."  Again:  "When  the  Greeks 
ceased  to  sing  and  began  to  make  history,  they  collected  their 
songs  in  Homer;  the  same  was  true  of  the  Germans,  so  that  in 
the  time  of  the  Hohenstaufen  their  songs  were  collected  in  the 
Nibelungenlied.  Likewise,  we  cannot  conceive  the  'Volkslied' 
from  any  other  viewpoint  than  that  of  song.  To-day,  all  this  is 
changed.  What  we  have  is  poetry,  fit  only  to  be  read  silently, 
fit  for  the  learned  discussions  of  the  critics,  but  not  poetry  which 
touches  the  emotions."'  He  ridiculed  the  so-called  "Lieder  ohne 
Worte:"  "One  needs  words,  poetry  for  music,  but  not  our  tra- 
ditional poetry,  because  this  refuses  to  fuse  with  music."  Hence 
he  sought  for  some  other  form,  a  form  which  answers  all  these 
purposes,  and  that  form  is  the  well-known  device  of  alliteration, 
a  device,  however,  which,  as  W,  uses  it,  though  jieculiar,  be- 
comes a  source  of  strength.  This  has  already  been  called  the 
missing  link,  and  it  is  proposed  to  show  that,  from  this  view- 
point, Wagner's  language  in  the  "Ring"  is  to  be  explained  and, 
in  some  of  its  phases,  from  this  viewpoint  alone.  That  lliis  view 
is  fundamentally  correct,  is  made  clear  when  "Siegfried's  Tod," 
of  1848,  is  compared  with  the  present  "Goetterdaemmcrung," 


1  Cf.  Werkc,  iii,  123. 


40  Genesis  and  Conception  of  Wagner's  Work 

which,  as  has  been  shown,  is  the  outcome  of  the  former.  In 
recasting  it,  various  changes  were  made,  the  action  was  intensi- 
fied, but  most  important  for  our  argument  are  those  changes  of 
lano-uacie  which  were  made  for  the  evident  sake  of  alhteration. 
The  first  quotation  of  those  which  follow  is  always  from  "Sieg- 
fried's Tod,"  the  second,  from  "Goetterdaemmerung." 

deinem  Rat  nur  zoU  ich  Lob. 
deinem  Rat  nur  red'  ich  Lob. — G.  15. 

ler  dort  so  herrlich  erwuchs, 
den  wuensch  ich  Gudrun  zum  Mann, 
der  im  Walde  so  maechitg  erwuchs, 
den  wuensch  icli  .  .  .  — G.  16. 

welche  Tat  schuf  es  so  hehr. 

welche  Tat  schuf  er  so  tapfer. — G.  16. 

vernahm  ich,  er  huetet  den  reichsten  Schatz. 

vernahm  ich,  er  huetet  den  neidlichsten  Scliatz. — G.  17. 

und  Brunnhild  gewaenne  nur  er, 

sie  moechte  kein  an'drer  bestehn. 

und  Brunnhild  gewaenne  nur  er, 

keinem  and'ren  wiche  die  Brunst. — G.  17. 

nun  zeigst  du  boese  Art  .  .  .  zwingen  soli. 

was  weckst  du  Zweifel  und  Zwist  .  .  .  zwingen  soil. — G.  17. 

gewaenne  sie  Siegfried  fuer  sich. 

braechte  Siegfried  die  Braut  dir  heim. — G.  17. 

in  Jagens  Lust  am  Rhein. 

in  rastloser  Jagt  .  .  .  Rhein. — G.  19.  ' 

ein  selt'ner  Schlag  von  muessiger  Hand, 
ein  gemaechlicher  Schlag,  etc. — G.  19. 

so  muehloser  Kraft  .  .  .  Ruder. 

so  ruestiger  Kraft  .   .   .  Ruder. — G.   19. 

den  ersten  Trunk  zu  treuer  Minne,  Bruennhild  trink. 

den  ersten  Trunk  zu  treuer  Minne,  Bruennhild  bring  ich. — G.  23. 


wohl  gute  Runen  laesst  mich  ihr  Auge  lesen. 

sind's  gute  Runen,  die  ihreni  Aug'  ich  entrate. — G.  23. 


dort  liegt  mein  Schiff,  schnell  bringt  es  zu  Bruennhilds  Felsen 
.  .  .  Schnell  fuehrt  es  zum  Felsen. — G.  27. 

eine  Xacht  am  Ufer  harrst  du  mein. 

eine  Nacht  .  .  .  harrst  du  im  Nachen. — G.  27. 


Genesis  and  Conception  of  Wagner's  Work  41 

wissen  soUst  du,  welche  Macht  du  hast, 
gemahnt  sei  der  Macht,  der  du  gebietest  . — G.  40. 

dich  Unverzagten  zeugt'. 
dich  Zaglosea  zeugt. — G.  42. 

den  Rmg  soUst  du  haben. 

den  Ring  sollst  du  haben,  harre  in  Ruh. — G.  42. 

der  Tarnhelm  wirkte  das  wie  Hagen  mich  es  wies. 

der  Tamlielm  .  .  .  wie  Hagen  es  tuechtig  wies. — G.  45. 

m  m 

im  Fruehnebel  vom  Felsen  folgte  sie  mir  hinab. 

durch  des  Feuers  verloeschende  Lohe. 

im  Fruehnebel  vora  Felsen  folgte  sie  mir  zu  Tal. — G.  45. 

Siegfried  .  .   .  wie  fuercht  ich  mich  vor  dir. 
Siegfried  .  .  .  wie  fasst  mich  Furcht  vor  dir. — G.  46. 

du,  Hagen,  rufe  die  Mannen. 

.  .  .  minnig  rufe  die  Mannen. — G.  4G. 

einsam  faehrt  er  mit  ihr  allein. 
einsam  faehrt  er,  keiner  folgt. — G.  48. 

Hagen,  was  soUen  wir  dann. 

Hagen,  was  heissest  du  uns  dann. — G.  48. 

tranken  wir  aus,  was  treiben  wir  dann? 

das  Horn  zur  Hand,  wie  halten  wir  es  darm? — G.  49. 

ihm,  der  zur  Frau  dich  erkor. 

ihm,  der  zum  Wieb  dich  gewann. — G.  50. 

Welche  Serge  mach'  ich  dir,  Bruennhild. 
Was  mueht  Bruennhildens  Blick. — G.  51. 

merket  wohl  was  die  Frau  euch  klagt. 
merket  klug  was  die  Frau  euch  klagt. — G.  52. 

zeiget  Bruennhild  wie  ihr  Herz  sie  zerbreche, 
den  zu  vernichten,  der  sie  verriet. 
heis-set  Bruennhild  ilir  Herz  zu  zerbrechen, 
den  zu  zertruenuncni,  der  sie  betrog. — G.  54. 

treulos,  Siegfried,  solltest  du  sein. 

treulos,  Siegfried,  saiinst  du  auf  Trug. — G.  55. 

ein  einz'ger  BUck  seines  glaenzendcn  Auges. 
.  .  .  Blick  seines  blitzenden  Auges. — G.  59. 

dein  lichtes  -Vug'  neideten  dann  wir  nitninor. 
.  .  .  lichtes  .A.ug'   .   .  .  niclit  laenger. — G.  00. 


42  Genesis  and  Conception  of  Wagner's  Work 

zu  deinem  Verderben  wahrst  du  den  Ring. 

zu  deinem  Wehe  wahrst  du  den  Ring. — R.  68. 

ihr  listigen  Frauen  lasset  ab. 

ihr  listigen  Frauen  lasset  das  frei. — G.  69. 

ihn  flochten  webende  Nornen. 

.  .   .  naechtlich  webende  Nornen. — G.  69. 

Eide  schwur  er  und  weiss  sie  nicht. 
Eide  .  .  .  achtet  er  nicht. — G.  70. 

''Runen  weiss  er  und  kennt  sie  nicht. 
Runen  .   .   .  und  raet  sie  nicht. — G.  70. 

nur  den  Ring,  der  Tod  ihm  bringt, 
den  Reif  nur  will  er  behalten. 
.  .  .  Ring,  der  zum  Tod  ihm  taugt, 
den  Reif  nur  will  er  sich  wahren. — G.  70. 

hei,  Gunther,  ungemuter  Mann. 

.  .  .  Gunther,  graemlicher  Mann. — G.  73. 

jetzt  aber  hoert  Wunder, 

jetzt  aber  merkt  wohl  auf  die  Maehr. 

Wunder  muss  ich  euch  melden. — G.  74. 

durchschritt  er  die  Glut  .  .  .  Braut. 
.  .  .  Brunst  .  .  .  Braut. — G.  76. 

selig  umschlang  .  .  .  Bniennhilde. 

bruenstig  umschlang  .  .  .  Bniennhilde. — G.  76. 

verstehst  du  auch  dieser  Raben  Spruch. 
erraetst  du  auch  dieser  Raben  Geraun. — G.  77. 

schweigt  euren  Jammer,  eure  eitle  Wut. 

schweigt  cures  Jammers  jauchzenden  Schwall. — G.  82. 

If  these  and  other  changes  support  our  statement  that  allitera- 
tion has  influenced  Wagner's  language,  we  do  not  go  too  far  in 
inferring  that  it  has  influenced  the  whole  work  even  where  we 
have  no  material  for  comparison.  And  here  it  may  be  noticed 
that  it  requires  but  little  keenness  of  penetration  to  under- 
stand Wagner  when  he  says  that  he  could  not  use  flowery 
phrases.  "In  frank  emotion,  when  we  let  go  all  conventional 
consideration  for  the  spun-out  modern  phrase,  we  try  to  express 
ourselves  briefly  and  to  the  point,  and,  if  possible,  in  one 
breath."^     In  his  search  for  a  strictly  melodic  garment  for  his 


1  Werke,  Oper  und  Drama,  translated  by  Ellis,  ii,  256;  c/.,  also,  Part  3, 
chap.  2,  and  Part  2,  chap.  6. 


Genesis  and  Conception  of  Wagner's  Work  4  3 

dialogue,  it  seemed  clear  to  him  that,  through  an  imperfection 
of  our  modern  verse,  it  was  impossible  to  find  in  it  a  natural 
melodic  source  or  a  standard  of  musical  expression.  For  this, 
however,  he  had  not  far  to  seek.  "In  that  primal  mythic  spring 
where  I  found  the  fair  young  Siegfried  I  also  lit,  lead  by  his  hand, 
upon  the  physically  perfect  mode  of  utterance  wherein  alone 
that  man  could  speak  his  feelings.  This  was  the  alliterative 
verse,  which  bends  itself  into  natural  and  lively  rhythm  to  the 
actual  accents  of  our  speech,  and  yields  itself  so  readily  to  every 
shade  of  manifold,  expression,  that  'Stabreim'  which  'the  folk 
itself  once  sang  when  it  was  still  both  poet  and  myth-maker." 
He  had  also  noticed  that  in  alliteration  "the  roots  are  fitted  to 
one  another  in  such  a  way  that,  just  as  thej'^  sound  alike  to  the 
ear,  they  also  knit  like  objects  into  one  collective  image  in  which 
the  feeling  may  utter  its  conclusions  concerning  them."  In  this 
connection,  attention  may  be  called  to  an  analogy  in  Mhg.  litera- 
ture— the  Leich.  The  secular  Leich  was  undoubtedly  sung 
with  bodily  motion.  Ulrich  von  Lichtenstein  reports  that  he 
sang  his  Leich  with  high  notes  and  quick  motion,  for  which 
many  a  fiddler  thanked  him.  Several  lays  close  when  the  fiddle 
string  snaps,  or  the  bow  breaks.^  Now  in  strict  keeping  with  all 
this  is  the  form  of  the  Leich.  It  is  impossible  to  go  so  far  as 
Jakob  Grimm^  and  to  see  even  some  sort  of  alliteration  in  it,  but 
the  poetic  form  stands  in  clear  contradistinction  to  the  Minne- 
song.  There  is  a  law  in  the  Leich,  though  no  one  has  yet  been 
able  to  show  just  what  it  is.  To  some  extent,  a  parallel  is  found 
in  Wagner's  work,  for  there,  as  in  the  Leich,  we  have  a  surprising 
freerlom  of  action  with  striking  irregularities  of  form.  One 
merely  needs  to  recall  the  old  "Tanhuser"  and  Wagner's  study 
of  it,  as  well  as  other  parts  of  old  German  literature,  to  become 
convinced  at  once  that  he  was  influenced  by  it  in  a  markevl 
degree.^  Speaking  of  his  stay  in  Paris,  he  says:  "There,  in  a 
foreign  country,  I  was  made  acquainted  with  the  folk-lore  of  my 
home    land.      I  read   'TanhCiser'  and  was  intensely  moved    by 


IF.  Pfeiffcr,  Deutsche  Clasftiker  des  Mitlelalters,  i,  164;  Uhhiud,  Volks- 
lieder,  Cotta  Edition,  iii,  215  f. 

2.1.  Griinin,  Ueber  den  aUdeulnclica  MciMcnjcsntu],  p.  63  f. 

3  6'/.  Oi>er  und  Drama,  wliere  he  speaks  of  the  beauty  of  the  Volkslied; 
c/.,  also,  Work  and  Mission  of  My  Life,  supra,  article  2. 


44  Genesis  and  Conception  of  Wagner^ s  Work 

its  sympathetic-tragical  character,  especially  as  I  found  it  in 
connection  with  the  '  Saengerkrieg  auf  der  Wartburg,'  and  I  was 
led  to  anticipate  the  possibility  of  a  great,  intensely  serious 
musical  drama." 

There  is  still  another  reason  for  Wagner's  choice  of  alliteration. 
It  was  his  desire  to  create  primitive  characters.  We  shall  have 
occasion  to  note  some  of  his  compound  words  with  the  prefix 
"ur":  uriveise,  Urgesetz,  etc.  He  created  "  Urmenschen,"  and 
for  this  reason  he  did  not  follow  the  Nibelungenlied,  but  used 
old  Norse  for  his  sources.  Here,  too,  he  found  the  alliterative 
verse.  There  were,  accordingly,  three  motives  for  Wagner's 
choice  of  alliteration;  it  leaves  room  for  musical  accent,  it 
hightens  emotion,  it  leads  back  to  primitive  conditions.  These 
tendencies  are  the  soul  of  his  work,  its  body  is  the  language 
with  all  its  apparent  pecuharities. 


CHAPTER  II 


ALLITERATION 


Nothing  definite  has  yet  been  written  on  Wagner's  allitera- 
tion.^    A  few  general  remarks  have  been  made  by  his  friends, 
adverse  criticism  has  discarded  it  with  a  sneer  as  unworthy  of 
detailed  consideration.     It  is  interesting  to  note  that  some  im- 
portant critics  have  unrestricted  praise  for  the  poetry  of  the 
"Ring"  but  speak  disdainfully  of  the  alliteration;  while  others 
extol  its  merits  and  condemn  the  poem.     Julian  Schmidt  calls 
it  "  Old-Frankonian  tw^addle;"  Hanslik,  "A  frightfully  short  dog- 
trot;"   and  when  "Parsifal"  appeared,  he  was  glad  "to  be  rid 
of  this  childish  tittle-tattle."-     W.  Jordan,^  speaking  of  the  trans- 
lators of  the  Edda,  says,  "Those  engaged  in  this  enterprise  had 
no    apprehension    of   the   far    more   vigorous    conditions   which 
alliteration  had  to  fulfill  in  modern  German,  when,  in  place  of 
delighting  harmoniously,  it  racks  the  ear  with  its  unbearable 
rattUng,  disgusts  the  aesthetic  feeling  with  vulgarity,  and  shocks 
the  reason  with  transgression  against  logic  and  language,  as  do 
some  opera-texts  of  R.  Wagner."     Geo.  Witkowski'*  thinks  that 
the  vast  thought-content  and  the  di-amatic  importance  of  the 
"Ring"  place  it  in  the  domain  of  true  elevated  tragedy;  but  the 
freakish  external  form  which  a})plies  alliteration  with  utter  want 
of  intelligence,  the  language  which  is  intentionally  anticiuated 
and   distorted   by  numberless  word-plaj's,   impair  its  dramatic 
value.     Dr.    Karl    Koestlin,   on  the  other  hand,   holds  just   the 
opposite  view.^     He  sees  no  value  in  it  from  the  view])oint  of 

1  Herrmann,  Wa/fner  und  der  Strahreim,  which  i.s  called  "  Dilcttaniscli,"  in 
Paul's  Gruiidriss,  II  Band,  2  Abt.,  p.  121,  could  not  be  Kot  by  the  author. 

2  Cj.  W.  Tappert,  R.  Wagrur,  sein  Lcbeii  und  seine  Werke,  1883. 

3  Die  Eddn,  2  Aufl.,  Frankfurt  a.  M.,  1S90,  p.  4. 

*  Das  Deuiscfte  Drama  dc.i  Neunzehnlcn  Jahrhunderts,  [).  100. 
5  It.  Wacjner'a  Tondrama,  Der  Ring  des  Nibelungen,  p.  OH. 

4''> 


4()  Alliteration 

tragedy,  but  has  almost  unlimited  praise  for  it  as  a  poem.  "In- 
deed, the  language  of  the  poem  represents  a  tremendous  progress 
in  contrast  with  all  previous  opera-texts,  especially  as  to  meter 
and  rhythm.  The  quick  succession  of  words  and  the  short  lines 
give  the  whole  poem  a  buoyancy  and  swing  which  makes  it  ring 
and  chime  spontaneously,  and  which,  when  one  has  become 
accustomed  to  it,  affords  a  genuine  pleasure  by  the  mere  reading 
of  it."  He  praises  the  force  of  expression  which  excludes  all 
redundancy,  the  constant  use  of  alliteration,  which  protects 
against  languor  and  triviality  of  expression,  and  fits  excellently 
into  the  heroic  mood  of  the  poem.  A.  Ernst^  explains  the 
modern  Stabreim,  describes  the  Edda  and  Simrock's  translation 
of  it,  and  shows  how  certain  consonants  predominate  in  certain 
passages.  Excepting  general  hints,  Ernst's  otherwise  excellent 
book  adds  nothing  of  importance  to  our  subject.  Karl  Gjiellerup^ 
draws  attention  to  the  rimeless  lines;  he  considers  the  old  Norse 
liddahaitr,  but  refutes  the  idea  of  regularity  and  correspondence 
with  that  movement.  He  points  out  a  crescendo  in  Wagner's 
alliteration  from  a  single  consonant  to  groups  of  two,  three,  and 
even  four:  *Saal:*Sieg,  Stock:StQm,  *S^rahl:*S^rom,  *S^rahl:5^rafe. 
This  exhausts  his  observations.  Hans  von  Wolzogen^  inveighs 
against  Wagner's  critics  in  characteristic  manner  and  defends 
his  alliteration.  Following  W.  Jordan,  he  endeavors  to  prove 
that  Wagner  uses  not  only  1,  w,  s,  but  all  consonants.  He  calls 
Wagner's  liodahdttr  an  imitation  of  epic  law,  but  contributes  noth- 
ing new  to  the  subject.  The  same  is  true  of  his  "Poetische 
Lautsymbolik."*  In  this  he  starts  out  with  the  old  theory  that 
certain  emotions  are  created  by  hearing  certain  sounds,  and 
without  further  difficulty,  he  reaches  the  theory  of  onomatopeia, 
which,  on  the  whole,  he  accepts.  With  this  as  a  basis,  he  tra- 
verses the  whole  "Ring"  and  proves  for  Wagner  what  the  latter 
himself  surely  never  wished  to  prove.  Though  the  theory  may 
be  plausible,  it  becomes  ridiculous  when  applied  to  the  poem 

1  Supra,  chapitre  IV,  La  langue  poetique,  la  metrique,  p.  59  f. 
2R.  Wagner  i  bans  Hovevaerk,  Nibelungs  Ring,  p.  231. 

3  Die  Tragoedie  in  Bayreuth  und  ihr  Statyrspiel,  Leipzig,  Schloemp,  1877; 
reprinted  by  the  same  press,  1878,  under  new  title:    Erlaeuterungen  zu  R. 
Wagner's  Nibelungendrama,  p.  51  ff. 

4  Poetische  Lautsymbolik,  psychisclie  Wirkungen  der  Sprachlaute  im  Stabreime » 


Alliteration  47 

line  for  line.  Thus,  "n"  is  the  surly  sound,  because  Alberich 
uses  it:  "ihr  Nicker,  wie  seid  ihr  niedlich,  niedliches  Volk,"  and 
because  the  dwarf  symbolizes  the  negative  spirit  (p.  8).  "t" 
represents  the  "direction  whither,"  hence  it  is  the  demonstrative 
consonant,  for  does  it  not  occur  in  the  following?  "Tauche  zur 
Tiefe  mit  dumpfem  Gedonner"  (p.  9).  "w"  is  soft,  for  it  is  used 
in  "woge  du  Welle,  walle  zur  Wiege" — "  Winterstuerme  wichen 
dem  Wonnemond."  Wolzogen  does  not  seem  to  consider  that 
"w"  is  also  used  in  "wild  wiehert  Walvaters  Ross;  wehe,  wehe, 
wuetend  schwingt  sich  Woten  zu  Ross."  ''Pr"  is  the  sound  of 
spontaneous  movement,  especially  that  of  sneezing  and  ridicule, 
hence  physical  and  psychic  relationship;  for  the  Rhuiedaughter 
says:   "pruhstend  naht  raeines  Freiers  Pracht"  (p.  8). 

It  is  not  necessary  to  go  into  this  further.  It  does  not  solve 
the  problem  of  Wagner's  method  of  alliteration.  It  is  not  to  be 
understood,  however,  that  no  attempt  is  made  in  the  poem 
at  sound-coloring,  which  is  a  matter  at  once  distinct  from  this 
psychic  relationship  of  sounds.  One  other  critic,  Edmund  von 
Hagen,^  makes  only  a  few  general  remarks  on  Wagner's  Stabreim, 
drawing  attention  to  Schleicher' s  admiration  of  it. 

All  these  divergent  views  show  that  there  is  no  unanimity  of 
opinion  with  regard  to  the  verse  technique  of  Wagner  the  poet. 
It  may  be  that  there  never  will  be,  but  the  conditions  at  hand, 
and  the  importance  which  the  poet  himself  has  attached  to  allit- 
eration, call  for  an  analysis  upon  which  the  further  consideration 
of  our  subject  may  be  developed.  At  the  outset,  it  is  necessary 
to  show  whence  Wagner  derived  his  conception  of  the  Stabreim. 
He  could  not  read  the  Edda  in  the  original,  but  he  had  inti- 
mate intercourse  with  a  scholar  who  could,  one  of  the  first  who 
made  a  complete  alliterative  translation  into  German,  Ludwig 
Ettmueller.2  It  is  difficult  to  prove  how  much  i)ersonal  influ- 
ence Ettmueller  had  on  Wagner's  conception  of  alliteration, 
though  both  lived  in  Zuerich;  we  know,  however,  that  he  u.setl 
his  translation  copiously,  and  the  introduction  to  his  book 
throws   light   on    many  details  of   our   subject.     Tho   Ijook   also 

1  Ueber  die  Dichtung der  erslen  Scene  des  Rheingolds,  MuoncheM,  1876,  |).7(>. 

2  Die   Lieder  der   Edda  von  den   Nihelungen.  Stabreimende  Verde utncliuruj 
nebst  Erlaeuterungen,  Zuerich,  Orell,  Fuessli  uii<i  Co.,  IS.i?. 


48  Alliteration 

contains  a  bibliography  of  translations  and  works  on  the  Edda 
and  the  sagas,  at  the  time,  meagre  enough.  These  we  know 
Wagner  perused  studiously,  notably  von  der  Hagen's  translation: 
"Die  Eddalieder  von  den  Nibelungen,"  1814,  and  "Lieder  der 
alten  Edda,"  1815.  The  brothers  Grimm,  shortly  after  that, 
edited  thirteen  songs  in  the  original  Old  Norse  with  a  double 
translation,  one  literal,  the  other  in  prose.  W.  Mueller's  "Ver- 
such  einer  mythologischen  Erklaerung  der  Nibelungensage," 
1841,  has  left  distinct  traces  in  Wagner's  work.  Aside  from 
the  treatise  as  such,  the  copious  foot-notes  gave  him  manifold 
suggestions  which  he  worked  up.  Words,  such  as  Waherlohe 
(p.  5),  das  Gold  hergen  (p.  ii),  etc.,  are  repeatedly  used  by  Wagner, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  treatment  of  the  material  itself,  which 
does  not  belong  here.  But  of  the  greatest  importance  for  our 
subject  is  that  part  of  Ettmueller's  introduction  where  he  ex- 
plains alliteration.  He  confesses  that  it  is  not  his  own,  but 
merely  an  extract  from  Rask's  Islandic  Metrics.  In  1851,  while 
Wagner  was  yet  busily  engaged  with  his  poem,  Simrock's  alliter- 
ative translation  of  the  Edda  made  its  appearance,^  and  we  know 
that  Wagner  had  a  copy  of  it.  It  is,  accordingly,  evident  that 
he  had  acquainted  himself  with  the  best  results  of  the  German 
scholarship  of  the  time  in  these  directions. 

Ettmueller's  introduction  treats  alliteration  in  a  very  ele- 
mentary manner.  He  gives  these  very  general  rules:  1.  Lines 
which  belong  together  must  have  three  alliterative  words,  two 
of  them  in  the  first  line,  one  in  the  second.  The  foot-note  ex- 
plains that  frequently,  and  especially  in  short  lines,  only  two 
such  words  are  used,  one  in  each  hne.  2.  The  liodahdttr  has  three 
lines,  a  couplet,  which  is  united  by  alliteration,  and  a  third  line 
which  alliterates  within  itself.  Then  he  states  that  both  types 
sometimes  interchange  in  the  same  song,  or  even  in  the  same 
strophe.  Ettmueller  himself  transgresses  against  these  laws, 
notably  that  which  demands  the  alliteration  on  the  ward  bearing 
the  main  stress: 

Dann  wird  deren  Soha     dein  Leid  raechen.     (II  Sigurdl.,  11.) 
His  two  commonest  forms  are: 


1  K.  J.  Simrock,  Edda  Saemunder,  die  juengere  und  aeltere  Edda  nebst  den 
mythischen  Erzaehlungen  der  Skalda. 


Alliteration  49 

2:1     rote  Ringe     als  Rache  des  Vaters.  (II  Sig.,  15.) 

1:1     sass  dann  mit  Tora     sieben  Halbjahre.  (II  Sig.,  18.) 

In  his  liodahdttr,  Ettmueller  takes  considerable  license: 
a  a  bb 

der  Maenner  Schwann     schwer  das  raecht 

der  in  Wadgelmir  wadet.  (II  Sig.,  4.) 


aa  a  bb 
a  a  bbb 


ungeboren  noch  acht  ich     die  Edlinge  seien 

welchen  das  zum  Hasse  verhaeugt  ist.  (II  Sig.,  8.) 


dein  Drohn     keinen  Deut  fuercht  ich 

nun  hebt  euch  heim  von  hinnen.  (II  Sig.,  9.) 

Old  Xorse,  of  course,  did  not  tie  itself  down  to  inflexible  rules.^ 
The  same  conditions  are  found  in  Simrock's  translation: 
aa  a  bb 

leicht  erkennen  koennen     die  zu  Odhin  kommen 

den  Saal  wenn  sie  ihn  sehn.  (Grimnisraal,  9.) 

C/.,  also,  Hawamal,  10;  Wafthrudnismal,  51;  Skirnisfoer,  10, 

etc.     Simrock  has  no  instances  of  two  alliterative  words  in  the 

second  half  of  the  first  line,  but  other  peculiarities  are  to  be  pointed 

out.     Thus,  in  Hawamal,  54,  there  is  an  example  where  in  one 

case  the  third  line  corresponds  with  the  second  half  of  the  first: 

der  Mann  muss     maessig  weise  sein 
doch  nicht  allzuweise, 

and  in  the  other  case  it  corresponds  with  the  first  half  of  the 
first  line: 

des  Weisen  Herz     erheitert  sich  selten 
wenn  er  zu  weise  wird. 

The  application  of  all  this  appertains  to  Wanner,  although  his 
problem  was  different  in  some  respects.  The  fact  that  his  pur- 
po.se  was  to  write  a  drama  is  a  distinctive  feature  which  must 
never  be  overlooked ;  his  very  intention  had  to  lead  him  in  paths 
of  his  own.  The  Etlda  is  lyric,  the  songs  are  divided  into  stro- 
phes, built  on  preconceived  law.  We  have  seen  how  |)erplcxeci 
Wagner  was  to  find  a  methofl  V)y  which  all  this  could  be  utilized 
for  dramatic  poetry.  The  Edda  coulil  give  him  only  hints  at 
best,  the  rest  was  a  problem  which  he  h;ul  to  solve  alone,  since 
there  were  no  real  models  from  which  he  could  copy.     The  same 


^Cf.  Sievers,  Altgermaniache  Melrik,  p.  83. 


50  Alliteration 

difficulty  confronted  him  with  the  old  epic  Langzeile.  Jordan 
could  use  it  and  show  how  he  applied  it  in  comparison  with  the 
old  literature/  and  others  could  do  this  task  for  him;^  but  what 
could  Wagner  do  with  it?  The  rhapsodist  may  wax  warm  in 
repeating  these  lines,  Wagner  felt  that  they  could  not  be  sung. 
To  be  sure,  the  latter  used  the  mdlahdttr  and  liodahdtir  movement, 
but  with  almost  infinite  variations;  he  binds  four,  five,  six  and 
even  seven  lines,  so  that  either  by  crossing,  or  by  predominance 
of  identical  sound  they  make  a  unit  in  themselves.  These  types 
are  distributed  at  random  throughout  the  whole  work.  A  few 
analogies  can  l)e  found  even  in  the  Edda.  But  when  everything 
is  said,  when  analogies  and  comparisons  of  such  works  which 
Wagner  used  are  pointed  out,  the  result  remains,  that  in  its 
actual  outcome  his  alliteration  is  a  work  of  his  own.  The  fol- 
lowing analysis  may  illustrate  this  remark: 

I.    THE    COUPLET 

1:1     This  t3^pe  predominates. 

soil  ich.  dir  glauben     so  gleite  herab — R.  11. 
2:1     This  type  is  very  familiar;  in  fact,  it  predominates  in  the 
old  Langzeile.     As  a  rule,  Wagner  correctly  gives  the  third  allit- 
eration the  greatest  stress: 

nur  tiefer  tauche  willst  du  mir  taugen — R.  10. 
A  peculiarity  worthy  of  notice,  however,  is  the  fact  that  this  type 
is  very  sparingly  used  in  the  ''Ring."  R.  has  23,  W.  42,  S.  41, 
G.  29  instances.  This  is  a  surprising  difference  when  compared 
with  the  preceding  type.  There  R.  alone  contains  39  instances 
more  than  the  entire  work  taken  together  here:  R.  174;  here 
all  together  135. 

1:2     This  is  unusual  everywhere;  when  found,   it  is  an  ex- 
ception.    Chamisso,  "Das  Lied  vom  Thrym,"  has  one  instance: 

und  er  erreichte     der  Riesen  Reich, 
but  Wagner  uses  it  almost  as  much  as  the  preceding  type:  R.  19, 
W.  24,  S.  38,  G.  14,  in  all  95  instances. 

gefall  ich  dir  nicht     dich  fass  ich  doth  fest — R.  10. 
1:3     Of  this  the  "Ring"  contains  only  three  instances: 

^Der  epische  Vers  der  Germanen  und  sein  Strabreim,  Frankfurt  a.  M.,  1868. 
2R.  Roepe,  Die  moderne  Nibelungendichtung ,  Hamburg,  1869. 


Alliteration  51 

dem  Tode  verfallen     fessle  den  Feigen  die  Furcht — R.  62. 

fuer  Mueh  und  Last     erlauert  ich  laug  meinen  Lolin — S.  62. 

der  Gibichungen  Greschlecht     gaben  die  Groetter  ihm  Gunst — G.  50, 

2:2     There  are  only  24  instances  of  this  type  in  the  whole 
book:   R.  6,  W.  6,  S.  10,  G.  2. 

wir  beide  bauten     Schlummers  bar  die  Burg — R.  24. 
Aside  from  these  types,  there  are  a  few  very  unusual  ones: 
2:3 

wer  so  die  Wehrlose  weckt, 

dem  ward,  erwacht  sie,  zum  Weib — W.  S3. 


3:2 


3:1 


zur  Hoehle  half  ich  ihr  her 

am  warmen  Herd  sie  zu  hueten — S.  15. 


loes  ich  mir  Leib  uad  Leben 

den  Ring  auch  muss  icli  mir  Loesen — R.  59. 

Before  going  over  to  the  other  large  category  of  the  couplet, 
it  is  necessary  to  point  out  such  defective  ones  which  have 
alliteration  in  one  line  only,  2:0,  0:2,  or  none  at  all,  0:0.  Of 
2:0  there  are  5,  of  0:2  there  are  2,  and  of  0:0  there  are  16  in- 
stances in  the  whole  book,  but  a  few  of  these  may  be  connected 
with  preceding  lines. 

2:0 

fort  mit  der  Faust     der  Ring  ist  mein — R.  71;  cf.  S.  16,  60;  G.  24,  57. 

0:2 

gruesst  mich  in  WalUiall     froh  sine  Frau — W.  50;  cf.  W.  65. 
0:0 

ich  Armer  zagte     dass  noch  was  fehle — R.  41 ;  cf.  R.  47,  55;  W.  58,  83; 
S.  14,  16,  19,  55,  61,  68,  72,  97;  G.  19,  41,  80. 

It  is  now  necessary  to  examine  those  couplets  in  which  allitera- 
tion changes  consonants.  These  comprise  almost  2(3  per  cent, 
of  all  the  couplets  in  our  work,  and  form  the  three  well-known 
categories:  abab,  abba,  aabb.  In  the  last  category  the  two  lines 
of  the  couplet  might  be  separated  and  each  called  an  isolated 
line,  becau.se  from  the  viewpoint  of  alliteration  they  are  sepa- 
rated rather  than  bound  together.  The  only  tie  in  the  following 
couplet  is  its  grammatical  connection;  alliteration  has  nothing 
to  do  with  its  unity: 

tief  in  des  Bu.sens  Bcrgc 

glimmt  nur  noch  lichtlose  Glut — W.  17. 


52  Alliteration 

Under  these  conditions,  the  ultimate  end  of  alliteration  is  de- 
stroyed; its  use  is,  strictly  speaking,  a  transgression  against  the 
laws  of  alliteration,  which  is  magnified  by  the  fact  Wagner 
has  as  many  of  this  type  as  of  either  of  the  two  others,  abab  has 
178,  abba  has  156,  aabb  has  173  instances,  507  in  all.  But  in 
all  justice  it  must  be  stated  that  the  translators,  and  even  Jordan, 
who  is  punctilious  in  such  matters,  use  this  type;  Minor,  in  his 
"Neuhochdeutsche  Metrik,"  p.  343,  and  others  sanction  it. 
Wagner's  couplet,  aside  from  the  three  forms  just  mentioned, 
has  89  exceptions  with  30  various  forms.  These,  added  to  507 
mentioned  above,  give  a  total  of  596,  making  about  one  per  cent, 
exceptions.  Some  of  these  variations  show  only  one  instance  to 
a  type,  but  they  are  there  and  increase  the  percentage,  small  as 
it  is. 

abab 

wie  gleicht  er  dem  Weibe     der  gleissende  Wurm. — W.  9. 

This  is  the  standa,rd  form,  but  notice  the  following  two,  where, 

in  the  first  example,  the  first   line  has  three  alliterations,   the 

second  line  only  one,  the  type,  however,  being  preserved.     In 

the  second  example  this  condition  is  reversed:  one  alliteration 

in  the  first  line,  three  in  the  second: 

liess  sie's  als  sc/iwachen  Lohn, 

sieh  her,  ein  zerbrochenes  *Sc/iwert. — S.  18. 

/cehre  dich  urn, 

aus  der  Hoehle  A:ommt  er  da/ier. — S.  65. 

No  special  category  has  been  made  of  these,  because  the  number 
of  examples  is  exceedingly  small. 

abba 

Of  this  category,  R.  has  33,  W.  46,  S.  50,  G.  27,  156  in  all. 
Here,  too,  we  notice  that  alliteration  is  not  equally  distributed 
within  the  two  Hnes  of  the  couplet.  The  first  ciuotation  follow- 
ing is  an  example  of  the  regular,  the  second  of  the  irregular  form, 
of  which,  however,  there  are  only  ten  examples  in  all. 

holder  Sang     singt  zu  mir  her. — R.  11. 
Freia.  von  je     A;nausemd  die  /boestliche  Frucht. — R.  38. 
aa  bb 

Here,  again,  we  have  irregular  distribution,  24  instances  in  all. 
One  may  suffice: 

durch  die  FZuten  bin     /?iesst  sein  sirahlender  Stem. — R.  14. 


Alliteration  53 

Of  the  others.  R.  has  45,  W.  41,  S.  51,  G.  36;  173  in  all.  Here 
follows  an  example  of  the  regular  form: 

schein  ich  nicht  schoen  dir     niedlich  und  aeckisch. — R.  11. 

EXCEPTIONS 

It  is  of  importance  to  treat  these  more  fully  than  the  regular 
forms,  since  a  proper  survey  of  these  is  the  only  means  for  ascer- 
taining Wagner's  ability  or  license.  Each  of  these  couplets,  of 
course,  must  contain  more  than  four  alliterations,  but  none  con- 
tains more  than  six.  Of  the  thirty  types  referred  to  above,  12 
have  five,  18  have  six  alliterations.  They  are  treated  here  from 
the  viewpoint  of  this  division. 

1.  Five  Alliterated  Words 
aba  ab 

faend  ich  den  lieiligen  Freund 

umfieiig  den  Helden  mein  Arm. — W.  19,  cf.  G.  9. 

aa  bba 

nun  halt  ich  was  mich  erhebt 

der  Maechtigen  maechtigsten  Herrn. — R.  61;  cf.  W.  27,  29;  S.  67; 
G.  40. 

aab  ab 

glaenzt  von  Gold  noch  ein  Ring 

den  gebt  die  Ritze  zu  fuellen.— R.  67;  cf.  W.  6,  15,  28,  33;  G.  33,  42; 
R.  13. 

ab  bab 

.so  leicht  waehntest  du 

Wonne  der  Liebe  erworben. — W.  79;  cf.  G.  7. 

ab  baa 

glaub'  mir  melir  als  Freia 

frommt  das  gleissende  Gold. — R.  35;  cf.  G.  74. 

ab  aab 

lehret  nur  Sclilauheit  und  Li.st 

wie  Loge  verschlagen  sie  uebt. — R.  23;  cf.  R.  26,  61;  S.  9;  G.  16,  74. 

aba  ba 

nur  rastlosem  Sturm  zu  orroiinn 

erstand  dir  die  ragende  Burg.— R.  21;  cf.  W.  r,.],  62,  76;  G.  7,  31,  85. 

aaa  bb 

viel  Schlimmes  schuf  er  uns  sclion 

dodistetsbe.strickteruns  wieder.— R.  23;  cf.  R.  33,  15,  16,  76;  \V.  1  9, 
37,  38,  40,  81;  S.  33,  34,  37;  G.  26. 


54  Alliteration 

aab  bb 

entzog  ich  zaglos  das  Schwert 

seine  Sclineide  schmecke  jetzt  du. — W.  57;  c/.  S.  6. 

ab  bba 

bei  dem  braunen  Waelsung 

weilt  wohl  noch  Bruennhild. — W.  62. 

2,  Six  Alliterated  Words 

(a)  Crossing  Between  Two  Consonants 
aaa  bbb 

kuehn  ist  des  Kindes  Kraft 

scharf  scluieidet  sein  Schwert. — S.  49. 

aba  aab 

o  lachend  frevelnder  Leichtsinn 
liebelosester  Frohmut. — R.  20. 

Cf.  aab  bba,  W.  57;  aba  bab,  W.  43;  G.  74;  abb  aba,  R.  36; 
aba  baa,  G.  17;  aba  bbb,  S.  12,  74;  W.  16,  56,  81;  G.  29,  36. 

(b)  Crossing  Between  Three  Consonants, 
aba  ccb 

dass  ein  Weib  der  Zwerg  bewaeltigt 
des  Gimst  Gold  ihm  erzwaug. — W.  42. 

abc  abc 

sank  auf  die  Lider  n^ir  Nacht 

die  Sonne  lacht  mir  nun  neu. — W.  7;  cf.  S.  98,  G.  35. 

Cf.  aab  bcc,  W.  15,  73;  S.  6;  aba  bcc,  R.  22;  abc  cab,  G.  65; 

abc  acb,  R.  74;  abb  ace,  Ri  9,  28,  62;  W.  47;  G.  70,  74;  abb  cca, 

R.  57;  aab  cbc,  R.  28,  33;  aab  ccb,  R.  71;  G.  6;  aba  cbc,  W.  75; 

abc  cba,  W.  79. 

Vocalic  Alliteration  in  the  Couplet 

Here  we  have  two  classes;  first,  purely  vocalic  throughout; 
second,  mixed  with  consonantal  alliteration.  Of  the  first  class 
there  are  48  instances:  R.  2,  W.  20,  S.  15,  G.  11;  of  the  second, 
67:   R.  19,  W.  18,  S.  7,  G.  23;  both  classes  together,  114. 

(1)  Vocalic  Throughout.     Most  of  these  are  type  1:1. 
am  wenigsten  er     der  luesteme  Alp, 

but  2:2  occurs  occasionally: 

der  ewigen  Goetter  Ende     daemmert  ewig  da  auf, 

and  even  such  types  as  3 :2  are  found : 

den  alten  albemen  Alp     des  Aergers  haett  ich  ein  End. 


i 


Alliteration  55 

(2)  Mixed  alliteration.     Let  "c"  stand  for  consonantal,  "v" 
for  vocalic.     All  possible  positions  occur  here: 
cv  cv     rettet  auch     es  rast  der  Alp 
vc  vc     ihr  andern  harrt     bis  Abend  hir 
vc  cv     auch  mueht  ich     mich  um  deu  Alben 
cv  vc     nehmt  euch  in  Acht     Alberich  naht 
vv  cc     Immer  ist  Undank     Loges  Lohn 
cc  w    was  Rechtes  ich  je  riet     andem  duenkte  es  arg 

Then  we  find  eight  instances  where  five  and  six  alliterations 
are  used: 

cw  cc     wie  schlau  fuer  Ernst  du  achtest 

was  wir  zum  Scherz  nur  beschlossen. — R.  25. 

Cf.  vv  cvc,  G.  6;  vcv  vv,  W.  38;  vcv  vc,  R.  20;  cvc  vc,  W.  75; 
vcv  ccc,  G.  31;  ccc  vcv,  G.  40;  cv  cvc,  G.  49. 

II.    THE    TRIPLET. 

This  is  frequently,  though  not  exclusively,  used  in  short  dia- 
logues: W.  64,  the  Valkyries  speaking  to  one  another;  S.  65,  62, 
81  f,  the  dialogues  between  Siegfried  and  Mime,  Siegfried  and 
Alberich  and  Wanderer.  The  scheme  appearing  most  frequently 
(255  times  out  of  a  possible  723),  almost  one-third  of  the  whole 
number,  is  a  a  bb,  e.  g.,  each  of  the  two  first  Unes  has  one  allit- 
eration, the  third  has  two: 

warum  du  Banger     bandest  du  niclit 
das  Maedchen,  das  du  minnst. — R.  ISA 

ab  ab  cc 

Here  alliteration  is  intensified;  instead  of  four,  there  are  six 
alliterated  words,  the  first  and  the  second  of  the  second  line 
corresponding  to  the  first  and  second  of  the  first  line,  the  third 
line  alliterating  within  itself. 

1  Cf.  R.  13,  18,  20,  21,  22  (2),  23  (3),  25,  31,  33,  34,  37,  39  (2),  42  (2),  49, 
50  (2),  58  (2),  59  (2),  60,  62,  63,  69  (3),  70,  71,  72;  W.  6,  13,  15,  18  (3),  19 
(2),  21  (4),  22,  24  (2),  26,  28,  .30,  31,  .32,  33,  34,  35  (2),  36  (2),  .37,  41,  46, 
47,  .50,  51,  .52,  .53  (2),  .55,  .56  (2),  .58,  64,  65,  66,  68,  69,  72,  78  (2),  80  (2),  82, 
84  (4);  S.  8,  11  (3),  13  (4),  14  (3),  15  (3),  20  (2),  21,  22  (4),  23  (4),  24  (4), 
25  (2),  26  (2),  27  (3),  29  (2),  .30,  31,  .34  (3),  .35  (.5),  .36  (2),  .37  (2),  .38,  39  (2)  , 
40  (2),  45  (3),  46  (2),  47  (2),  48,  49  (2),  .53,  .54  (2),  .56,  .57  (3).  .58  (2),  60, 
62,  67,  68  (4),  69  (2),  70,  71  (3),  72,  73,  74  (2),  75,  76,  78,  79  (2),  81  (2)  , 
82,  84  (2),  88  (3),  91,  92  (2),  94  (2),  96  (3);  G.  8  (3),  9  (2),  10,  12,  17,  18,  22, 
23,  25,  27  (2),  .30,  .33,  31,  35.  37,  40,  41  (2),  44  (2),  46,  48,  57,  .5S5,  .59  (2),  60, 
61,  6t,  65,  68,  69  (2),  70,  71,  72,  75,  76  (3),  77,  78,  SO,  82,  83,  84,  85. 


56  Alliteration 

stark  und  schoen     steht  er  zur  Scliau 
hehrer  herrlicher  Bau. — R.  20. 

This  class  is  small,   noly  fifteen  examples  were  found.     Cf. 
R.  23  (2),  63,  73;  S.  7,  22,  26,  35,  49,  66;  G.  7,  9,  34,  78. 
ab  ba  cc 

This  type  is  also  small  in  number,  the  second  line  begins  as 
the  first  ends,  the  third  line  standing  for  itself: 
Hort  und  Ring     erringt  er  im  Harst 

wie  erwerb  ich  mir  den  Gewinn. — S.  38. 

Notice  the  triple  alliteration  in  the  third  line  in  the  following: 
von  Menschen  verlacht     verlustig  der  Macht 
giengen  wir  Goetter  zu  Grund. — W.  35. 

Cf.  R.  19,  25,  32,  57,  70  (2);  W.  14,  21,  56,  73,  80;  S.  25  (2), 
46,  47,  55,  57,  71,  76;  G.  6,  8,  26,  75,  76,  84. 
aa  bb  cc 

Each  line  stands  for  itself,  with  no  reference  to  its  surround- 
ing: 

gleiche  Gier  war  Fricka  wohl  fremd 

als  selbst  um  den  Bau  sie  mich  bat. — R.  21. 

Cf.  R.  38,  51;  W.  34,  38,  56;  S.  23,  27,  37,  46,  68,  72;  G.  8, 
26,  37,  42,  69. 
(1)  aa  a  bb  and  (2)  a  aa  bb.     Only  a  few  of  these  are  found: 
Of  (1): 

neue  Neidtat     sinnt  uns  der  Niblung 
gibt  das  Gold  ihm  Macht.— R.  32. 

Cf.  R.  36,  50,  64,  74;  W.  52,  66;  S.  11,  28,  36,  37,  52,  73,  81, 
97;  G.  40. 
Of  (2): 

die  liebliche  Goettin     licht  und  leicht 

was  taugt  euch  Toelpeln  ilir  Reiz. — R.  25. 

Cf.  W.  18,  62;  S.  31,  36,  47,  60;  G.  11,  31. 

It  is  necessary  to  state  that  not  all  triplets  correspond  to  the 
types  just  cited.  Wagner  occasionally  allows  himself  liberties, 
but  they  are  so  few  in  number  that  they  might  be  reasonably 
overlooked  were  we  not  endeavoring  to  give  an  exhaustive 
survey  of  the  matter.  They  are  not  only  few,  but  so  far  apart 
in  the  text  that  it  requires  special  care  to  detect  them.  Most 
of  these  types  appear  only  once. 

ab  ab  ab 

Wut  und  Minne     wild  und  maechtig 
wuehlt  mir  den  Mut  auf. — R.  13. 


Alliteration  57 

aa  aa  bb 

wer  sie  erweckte     wer  sie  gewaenne 

machtlos  macht  er  mich  ewig. — S.  85. 
aaa  a  bb 

mich  Dummen  duenkte  mich  das     bedenken  will  ich's 
wer  weiss  was  ich  tu. — R.  75. 
a  a  bbb 

das  Rheingold  raubte  mir  Alberich 
weisst  du  was  aus  ihm  ward. — G.  9. 

aa  bb  ccc 

mich  musste     der  Reinste  verraten 

dass  wissend  wuerde  ein  Weib. — G.  84. 
aab  cb  c 

bleib  fern  fuerchte  dies  Zeichen     zur  Schande  zwiiigst  du  mich  nicht 
so  lang  der  Ring  mich  beschuetzt. 

Identical  alliteration.  There  are  101  examples  of  triplets  in 
which  the  three  lines  are  identical.  This  is  about  one-seventh 
of  the  whole  number  of  triplets.  S.  contains  46  of  these,  almost 
one-half.  The  following  is  taken  from  S.  62;  for  a  similar  pass- 
age, cf.  W.  74. 

wohin  schleichst  du     eihg  und  schlau 
schlimmer  Gesell.^ 

Interlacing.  The  result  of  our  study  can  be  grouped  into  the 
following  types: 

(1)  The  third  line  alliterates  with  the  second.  This  cannot 
be  subdivided.  One  would  have  to  cite  almost  every  instance, 
which  would  serve  no  purpose.  A  few  taken  from  R.  may  find 
a  place  here,  with  the  assurance  that  W.,  S.  and  G.  show  the 
same  condition: 

keiner  kennt  ihn     doch  einer  uebt  ihn  Zeicht 

der  sel'ger  Lieb  entsagt 
schweige  Schwaetzer     Fre'ia  die  g^ute 

Freia  ^rilt  es  zu  loesen. 

(2)  The  third  line  alliterates  with  the  first.  Naturally  thi.s 
class  is  small.  It  occurs  exclusively  in  short  lines;  if  it  were 
otherwise,  alliteration  would  hardly  be  felt: 


IC/.  R.  12,  10,  46,  48,  40  (.3),  .50  (2),  51,  .54,  .'50,  .57,  .58,  02,  O:?,  71,  7i,  70; 
W.  32,  37,  52  (2),  .53,  05,  07,  73  (2),  74  (4),  75,  78,  85;  S.  0  (2),  7,  11,  12, 
14  (2),  19  (2),  21,  23,  24  (2),  25,  26,  33,  34,  53,  54  (2),  56,  57,  04  (2),  67,  73, 
76  (2),  78,  79  (3),  81  (2),  82,  85  (2),  90  (3);  G.  17,  20,  24,  28  (4),  .30,  31,  35, 
40,  46,  57  (3),  61,  05.  07,  09.  73,  70. 


58  Alliteration 

zur  ieckenden  Lohe     mich  wieder  zu  wandeln 
spuer  ich  Zockeiide  Lust. — R.  75. 

(3)  The  three  Unes  interlace: 

war  es  so  schraaehlich     was  ich  verbracli 

dass  mein  Verbrechen  so  schmaehlich  du  bestrafst. — W.  76. 

Cf.  R.  41,  44,  46,  58,  70;  W.  7,  77;  S.  14,  17,  37,  40,  52,  53,  54, 
58,  82,  84,  85,  91,  92,  94,  97;  G.  45,  66,  67,  69,  71,  80,  81. 

Vocalic  Alliteration  in  the  Triplet 

Of  purely  vocaMc  alliteration,  only  one  instance  was  found: 
wie  sie  zu  enden     lehre  mich  Erda 
zu  ihr  muss  ich  hinab. — R.  72. 

Vocalic  and  consonantal  mixed  appears  49  times  out  of  a  pos- 
sible 723. 

(1)  Vocalic  in  first  two  lines,  consonantal  in  the  third: 
doch  ihr  setztet  alles     auf  das  juengende  Obst 

das  wussten  die  Riesen  wohl. — R.  39. 

(2)  Consonantal  in  first  two  lines,  vocalic  in  the  third: 
hilf  mir  Froh     Freias  Sehmach 

eil  ich  zu  enden. 

(3)  Vocalic  and  consonantal  interlacing: 
He!  an  die  Arbeit     alle  von  hinnen 

hurtig  hinab. — R.  47. 

Cf.  R.  58,  59,  65,  72,  74;  W.  21,  28  (3),  30,  33,  35,  36,  39,  41, 
46,  66,  81;  S.  12,  15,  17,  21,  26,  33,  39,  56,  69,  79,  84,  91;  G.  7, 

21,  26,  33,  34,  44,  57,  70,  72,  77,  82,  85. 

Defective  Triplets 

These  can  be  visuaUzed  thus: 

(1)  First  half  of  first  line  has  no  connection: 
an  dem  Bhck     erkannt  ihn  sein  Kind 

schon  wollt  ich  beim  Namen  ilui  nennen. — W.  24. 

(2)  Third  line  without  connection: 
aus  dem  Wald  fort     in  die  Welt  ziehn 

nimmer  kehr  ich  zurueck. — S.  18;  cf.  G.  37,  66. 

III.    FOUR   LINES    CONNECTED 

There  are  102  instances  where  four  lines  must  be  taken  to- 
gether; 93  are  purely  consonantal,  two  purely  vocalic  and  seven 
mixed.  These  must  not  be  considered  as  double  couplets;  they 
form  some  grammatical  entity,  and  for  that  reason  seem  justified. 


Alliteration  59 

Their  distribution  among  the  four  parts  of  the  "Ring"  is  as 
follows:  R.  14,  W.  32,  S.  34,  G.  13.  Aside  from  the  grammatical 
consideration  just  referred  to,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  state  that 
a  further  reason  for  putting  them  together  in  this  analysis  lies 
in  the  fact  that  either  the  third  line  binds  the  first,  or  there  is 
some  other  prominent  feature  showing  that  they  belong  to- 
gether. Where  such  features  were  found,  it  was  deemed  justi- 
fiable to  bring  them  under  the  following  types: 

(1)  Identical  alliteration  throughout: 
den  Ring  den  er  schuf  entriss  ich  ihm  listig 

doch  nicht  dem  i2hein  gab  ich  ihn  zu?nieck. — W.  37. 

Cf.  W.  72,  83;  S.  21,  50,  66;  G.  42. 

(2)  The  third  line  binds  the  second: 
so  ohne  Schain     verschenkt  ihr  Frechen 

i^reia  mein  holdes  Geschwister    froh  des  Schaechergewerks. — R.  21. 

Cf.  R.  29,  68,  71,  73;  W.  8,  30,  32,  44,  48;  S.  39,  45,  51,  88; 
G.  83,  85. 

(3)  The  third  line  binds  the  first : 
sitz  ich  daAeim     in  Fleiss  und  Schweiss 

nach  //erzenslust     schweifst  du  umher.     S.  10;  cf.  R.  22,  S.  93. 

(4)  The  third  line  binds  the  second  with  a  new  element  in  the 
third  and  fourth: 

von  des  Rheines  Gold     hoert  ich  raunen 
Beute-72unen     berge  sein  roter  Glanz. — R.  33. 

Cf.  R.  50,  63;  W.  11,  20,  21,  29,  38,  43,  50,  68,  81,  84;   S.  7, 
18,  23,  29,  60,  84,  85,  89,  90;  G.  18,  40,  52,  53,  68. 

(5)  The  first  three  lines  alike;  the  fourth  alliterates  within 

itself: 

Alberich  zauderte  nicht     zaglos  gcwann  er 

des  Zaubers  Macht     geraten  ist  ihm  der  Ring. — R.  34. 

Cf.  R.  44,  48;  W.  50,  66,  70,  82;  S.  38,  75,  78. 

(6)  The  first  line  alliterates  within  itself;  the  three  following 
are  alike: 

der  cntgegen  dem  Gott     fuer  mieh  foeclite 

den  freundliclion  Feind     wie  fuende  icli  ihn. — W.   10;  cf.  W.  It. 

(7)  Repetition: 

gegen  der  Goetter  Rache     reizte  kuohn  ich  ihn  auf 

gegen  der  Goetter  Rache    schuetzt  ihn  nun  einzig  das  Schwert. — W.4I. 

Cf.  W.  14,  25,  73,  74,  81;  S.  19,  56,  99;  G.  61  (2). 

(8)  Unclassified  types: 


60  Alliteration 

(a)  The  first  and  third,  the  second  and  fourth  Unes  are  bound 
together: 

jagt  er  auf  Tateu     wonnig  umher 

zum  eiigen  Tanu     wird  ihm  die  Welt. — G.  19. 

(b)  All  lines  alike  but  the  third: 
juengst  kehrte  er  lieini     in  der  Hand  hielt  er 

seines  Speeres  Splitter     die  hatte  ein  Held  ihm  geschlagen. — G.  32. 

(c)  The  fourth  line  binds  the  first: 

so  musste  ich  dich  fassen     uni  was  zu  wissen 
gutwillig     erfahr  ich  doch  nichts. — S.  15. 

(d)  The  second  line  binds  all  the  rest : 

zu  der  mich  nun  Sehnsucht  zieht     die  mit  suessem  Zauber  mich  sehrt 
im  Zwange  haelt  sie  den  Mann  der  mich  wehrlosen  hoehnt. — W.  16. 

IV.    FIVE    LINES    CONNECTED 

Twenty-two  examples  of  this  category  have  been  found.  The 
various  types  do  not  differ  very  much  from  the  forms  treated 
above. 

(1)  Identical  alliteration  throughout: 
fuer  des  Knaben  Zucht     will  der  knick'rige 
schaebige  Ivnecht     keck  und  kuehn 

wohl  gar  Koenig  nma  sein  . — S.  63;  cf.  32,  64  (3),  65. 

(2)  First  four  lines  identical,  the  fifth  alliterates  within  itself, 
with  a  new  element  introduced  in  the  fourth: 

ob  alles  fest     forscht'  ich  genau 

Fasolt  und  Fafner     fand  ich  bewaehrt 

kein  Stein  wankt  im  Gestaemm. — R.  29;  cf.  R.  41;  S.  52,  94,  98. 

(3)  The  first  line  alliterates  within  itself;  the  four  following  are 
identical,  changing  off  with  two  consonants: 

wie  erraeng  ich  den  Ring     verfluchte  Klemme 
da  kleb  ich  fest     faend  ich  nicht  klugen  Rat 
wie  den  Tamhelm  selbst  ich  bezwaeng. — S.  36. 

(4)  The  third  line  binds  the  two  last  with  the  first  two: 
wo  weilst  du  Wotan     winkt  dir  nicht  hold 

die  hehre  Burg     die  des  Gebieters 

gastlich  bergend  nun  harrt. — R.  72;  cf.  12,  44;  R.  15. 

(5)  The  fourth  fine  binds  the  last  to  the  first  three: 
Well!     wuetend  schwingt  sich 

Wotan  zu  Ross     hierher  rast 

sein  raechender  Schritt.— W.  71;  cf.  S.  79,  G.  35. 

(6)  The  second  binds  the  fourth  line: 


Alliteration  61 


so  ruestiger  Kraft     in  des  Ruders  Schwung 


» 


ruehmt  sich  nur  der    der  den  Wurna  ersclilug 
Siegfried  ist  es. — G.  19. 


» 


(7)  The  third  binds  the  fifth  Une  b}^  repetition: 
ewig  war  ich     ewig  bin  ich 

ewig  in  suess     selinender  Wonne 
doch  ewig  zu  deinem  Heil. — S.  95. 

(8)  The  first  Une  has  no  connection  with  its  surroundings: 
im  kuehlen  Schatten  rauscht  ein  Quell 

Weisheit  raunend     rann  sein  Gewell 
da  sang  ich  heiligen  Sinn. — G.  6. 

V.    SIX    LINES    CONNECTED 

This  category  is  naturally  small;  onh^  nine  examples  are  found. 
Four  of  these  connect  both  halves  in  the  third  line: 
das  Grieseln  und  Grauen     das  Gluehen  und  Schaudem 
Hitzen  und  Schwindeln     Haemmem  und  Beben 
gem  begehr  ich  das  Bangen     sehnend  verlangt  mich  der  Lust. — S33. 
C/.  R.  24,  31,  33. 

In  two  cases,  the  fourth  is  the  connecting  line: 
verfiuchtes  Licht     was  flammt  dort  die  Luft 
was  flackert  und  lackert     was  fiiramert  und  schwirrt 
was  schwebt  dort  und  webt     und  wabert  uinher. — S.  29,  cf.  S.  71. 

There  is  no  identical  alliteration  in  this  category,  but  one 
consonant  (1)  runs  throughout  the  passage  with  another  (w) 
sounding  like  an  undertone  and  creating  a  charming  effect.  It 
is  Loge's  complaint,  R.  31: 

doch  so  weit  Leben  und  Weben  verlacht  nur  ward 

meine  fragende  List    in  Wasser,  Erd  und  Luft, 

las.sen  will  nichts  von  Lieb  und  Weib. 

In  W.  54,  a  repetition  in  the  third  Une  binds  the  whole  passage 
together: 

dies  Schwert     das  dem  Treuen  ein  Trugvoller  schuf 
dies  Scliwert — etc.     The  same  is  found  in  S.  99: 
und  das  Fuerchten  ach,     das  ich  nie  gelemt 
das  Fuerchten  das,  etc. 

In  one  passage,  8.  76,  we  have  almost  identical  alliteration; 
the  fifth  line  justifies  the  sixth: 

mich  Wis.sende  selbst     bezwang  ein  Waltender  einst 

ein  Wurisrliniafdchen     gcbar  irli  Wf)faii 

der  Uelden  Wahl     hiess  fuer  sich  er  sic  kuehron. 


62  Alliteration 

VI.    SEVEN    LINES    CONNECTED. 

There  are  six  passages  of  seven  lines  each  which  cannot  be 
reduced  to  smaller  types.  Four  of  these  have  identical  allitera- 
tion throughout.  The  first  is  the  well-known  beginning  of  R., 
the  constantly  recurring  "w,"  indicating  the  soft  movements 
of  the  waters: 

weia  waga      woge  du  Welle,  etc. — R.  5;  cf.  52,  69;  W.  85. 

As  an  example  of  repetition  the  following  is  interesting; 
so  gruesse  mir  Wallhall     gruesse  mir  Wotan 
gruesse  mir  Waelse     und  alle  Helden,  etc. — W.  51. 

The  foregoing  analysis  shows  the  multiplicity  of  Wagner's 
forms  and  the  variations  of  each.  But  there  is  still  another 
feature  which  must  not  be  overlooked — the  close  position  of  the 
alliterated  words.  To  show  this,  two  categories  have  been 
made,  the  proximate  and  approximate  position.  The  first  gives 
all  passages  where  an  alliterated  word  follows  directly  upon  the 
preceding  one;  the  second,  those  separated  by  not  more  than 
two  words. 

I.    PROXIMATE    POSITION 

Woglinde  wachst,  Wellgunde  waer,  niedlich  neidisch,  Nacht 
naht,  was  willst,  Holder  hoerst,  nah  noch,  haariger  hoeckriger, 
Kind  kalter,  Sang  singt,  traut  betrog,  Banger  bandst,  gluehender 
Glanz,  Spiele  spenden,  Wassertiefe  wonnigen,  Schmuck  schmaehte, 
maaslos  Macht,  Minne  Macht,  Liebe  Lust,  Zauber  zum,  Brunst 
brannte,  hehrer  herrlicher,  fertig  verfallen,  hehre  Halle,  Sold 
Sorge,  Scham  verschenkt,  gleiche  Gier,  Wohnung  wonniger,  Burg 
gebunden,  liebeloser  leidigster,  Weibes  Wert,  toerig  tadelst, 
Gute  geb,  drueben  drohte,  stets  bestrickt,  boesen  Bund,  schloss 
Schlaf,  beide  bauten,  schlankes  Schloss,  holde  Holda,  Riese 
raet,  Weibes  Wonne,  Plumpen  plagen,  Gewinn  werben,  Haft 
hilft,  schwach  schwinden,  du  da,  dringst  du,  Kampf  kiesten, 
Lohnes  Last,  Hammers  Heft,  Handel  haett,  Wotans  Wunsch, 
fest  forscht,  Loges  Lohn,  Manne  maechtiger,  Wotan  wenden 
loeste  Loge,  selbst  siehst,  schlau  entschluepfte,  etc. 

II.    APPROXIMATE    POSITION 

Wie  du  wachst,  umschlaenge  der  Schlanken,  Furcht  der  Feind, 
ward  mir  was,  Grund  da  greifst.  Sprung  den  Sproeden,  verliebt 


p 


Alliteration  63 

und  luestern,  glauben  so  gleite,  Trug  ihr  treulos,  laechelt  in  lichten, 
Futen  hin  fliesst,  Lust  wie  lachst,  weil  ich  im  Wag,  flimmert  der 
Fluss,  Bade  dein  Bett,  schweigt  ihr  schwazendes,  lebt  will 
lieben.  Welterbe  gewaenn,  Liebe  doch  listig.  Flut  so  verfluch, 
Gipfel  die  Goetterburg,  Wille  ihn  wiess.  Burg  mir  bangt,  Vertrag 
dem  Truge,  hart  en  doch  heiUg,  Maenner  nach  Macht,  Fricka  wohl 
fremd,  Wehr  und  Wall,  Wandel  und  Wechsel,  liebt  wer  lebt, 
Hilfe  dort  her,  freier  Mut  frommt,  Neid  zura  Nutz,  rasch  die 
riefen,  Schwaeher  die  Schwache,  bar  die  Burg,  Leute  den  Lohn, 
Verrat  am  Vertrag,  Lichtsohn  du  leicht,  hoer  und  huete,  uns 
freie  zum  Frieden,  taugt  euch  Toelpeln,  Weib  zu  gewinnen, 
schuetzt  die  Schoene,  Haus  und  Herd,  Haus  und  Hof,  steht  nun 
stark,  red  und  rate,  Bauer  der  Burg,  zahlt  er  zoegernd,  nichts 
gezoegert  rasch  gezahlt,  Winkel  der  Welt,  den  Riesen  wohl  recht, 
zu  muten  dem  Mann,  etc. 

In  both  cases  the  examples  are  taken  from  R,  and  only  to 
page  31.  They  show,  without  a  doubt,  that  Wagner  consciously, 
and  in  some  cases  laboriously,  looked  for  an  accumulation  of 
alliteration.  All  this  could  not  have  been  without  definite 
influence  upon  the  vocabulary  and  syntax  of  his  language.  This, 
however,  was  not  the  only  influence,  as  will  be  shown  in  the 
following  chapter. 


CHAPTER  III 


THE   VOCABULARY 


Wagner's  vocabulary  deserves  particular  attention.  As 
time  goes  on,  he  is  better  understood,  and,  compared  with  other 
authors,  our  day  is  too  late  for  a  serious  defence.  The  following 
pages  are  not  written  with  the  view  of  justifying  the  use  of  cer- 
tain words,  but  rather  to  show  their  source  and  application  in 
the  text. 

The  "Ring"  contains  a  number  of  Middle  High  German  words 
which  have  become  obsolete  in  modern  German,  or  have  received 
a  new  meaning.  Many  had  already  been  used  before  Wagner 
by  translators  of  old  literature.  Some  critics  of  Wagner  have 
ridiculed  all  of  them;  others,  with  enthusiasm,  have  given  them 
unrestricted  approbation.  The  endeavor  has  been  made  in  this 
work  to  compare  them  with  recognized  authorities,  chiefly,  how- 
ever, with  the  translators  previously  mentioned,  whom  Wagner 
followed,  in  order  to  show  in  what  degree  he  was  dependent  on 
others.  Etymological  development  is  almost  wholly  ignored, 
because  in  a  work  of  this  kind  nothing  is  gained  by  its  considera- 
tion. Hans  von  Wolzogen's  little  book,  "Die  Sprache  in  R. 
Wagner's  Dichtungen,"  quoted  above,  is  at  fault,  since  in  many 
cases  he  merely  traces  the  etymology  of  a  word  in  various  Ger- 
manic dialects,  and  from  that  triumphantly  vindicates  Wagner's 
use  of  it.  This  misses  the  mark.  Wagner  is  not  studied  for  the 
sake  of  comparative  Grammar.  Wolzogen  also  shows  the  unusual 
number  of  words  newly  coined  by  Goethe,  giving  a  surprising 
extract  from  Lehman,^  and  demands  the  same  privilege  for 
Wagner  that  is  conceded  to  Goethe.  This  privilege,  of  course, 
no  one  denies  him,  but  Wagner  was  not  strong  enough  nor  so 
interested  in  the  matter,  to  make  such  an  extended  use  of  it. 


1  Lehman,  Goethes  Sprache  und  ihr  Geist. 

64 


The  Vocabulary  65 

To  compare  him  with  Goethe  as  a  creator  of  language  is  ridicu- 
lous. Even  BehageP  seems  to  labor  under  the  impression  when 
he  says,  "The  composer,  R.  Wagner,  has  shown  himself  among 
the  boldest  in  resuscitating  old  German  words,"  etc.,  and  even  so 
late  an  author  as  Wilh.  Kienzl^  is  of  the  opinion  that  Wagner 
enriched  the  German  vocabulary  to  a  noticeable  degree,  over- 
looking the  fact  that  in  reality  he  only  made  use  of  what  he  had 
found  in  the  translations  of  Germanic  scholars.  Wagner  was  a 
poet,  but  not  a  philologist. 

What  is  the  explanation  of  Wagner's  use  of  Middle  High  Ger- 
man words?  We  have  modern  words  in  place  of  them,  but  these 
are  frequently  not  so  apt,  nor  so  distinctive  it  may  be  of  fine 
psychological  moods.  In  some  cases,  the  older  words  have 
become  compounds,  and  their  use  in  the  short  alliterative  verse 
is  consequently  either  impossible,  or  heavy,  dull  and  unwieldy. 
In  some  instances,  it  is  well-nigh  impossible  for  modern  German 
to  give  certain  conceptions,  or  to  describe  remote  conditions, 
with  other  than  old  words.  Economy  of  language  will  not  usu- 
ally tolerate  a  word  after  that  for  which  it  stood  has  become 
extinct.  For  this  reason  a  long  Ust  of  words,  current  in  medi- 
aeval times,  has  disappeared.  When,  however,  it  may  be  cen- 
turies after,  certain  things  were  revived  again  in  custom,  or 
spoken  of  in  literature,  the  old  words  were  properly  called  back 
from  oblivion.  At  first  they  have  a  strange  aspect  among  their 
new  surroundings,  but  if  their  use  is  justified,  are  presently 
admitted  with  the  rest.  Grimm  has  a  goodly  number  of  these 
rehabilitated  wo^ds,  as  have  Fouque,  Ettmueller,  Simrock,  von 
der  Hagen  and  the  others  who  followed.  Wagner,  who  studied 
these  writers,  also  uses  many  of  these  words,  but  he  often  logic- 
ally goes  still  further  back  to  their  remotest  meaning. 

In  works  of  the  kind  under  discussion,  one  niu.st  not  forget 
the  eternal  fitness  of  things.  Every  drama  moves  in  an  al  inos- 
phere  of  its  own.  The  authors  of  such  works  have  not  created 
this  atmosphere  of  their  own  volition;  it  existed,  isolated  ])er- 
haps  and  forgotten,  before  they  entered  it,  but  thoy  have  had 
the  ability,  each  in  the  measure  of  his  genius,  to  live  themselves 

Mi(rli.'iK(;l,  A  Short  Jlislorical  Cirammar  i>j  llir  (Icrman  Lantjuaijr,  translated 
by  E.  Trofhman,  .M..\.,  London,  p.  07. 

^Kienzl,  W ellijcschidite  in  Churucktcrbildcrn,  It.  Wagner,  p.  80  f. 


66  The  Vocabulary 

into  it  according  to  the  time,  place  and  circumstances  of  the 
action.  Wagner's  "Ring"  reaches  back  into  the  dusk  of  pre- 
historic times.  Even  the  choice  of  such  a  subject  betrays  no 
little  intellectual  heroism.  The  Old  Norse  sagas  are  the  celestial 
fields  where  he  found  this  atmosphere,  but  what  a  tremendous 
stride  from  there  into  the  nineteenth  century!  The  mode  of 
living  has  been  changed;  the  naive  belief  in  the  miraculous  has 
made  way  for  realism;  ethical  views  have  been  reshaped  by 
Christianity.  Only  by  the  utmost  stretch  of  the  imagination 
can  we  place  ourselves  in  the  atmosphere  of  those  remote  times, 
vv'hen  gods  and  giants,  as  facts  of  existence,  determined  the 
destinies  of  man.  Viewed  in  this  light,  we  are  not  so  much 
surprised  by  the  use  of  so-called  unusual  words  in  Wagner's 
drama  as  by  the  fact  that  we  do  not  find  more  of  them.  The 
vocabulary  is  here  considered  from  two  points  of  view:  analogies 
with  translators,  and  the  use  and  meaning  of  particular  words. 

I.    ANALOGIES    WITH    TRANSLATORS. 

In  order  to  show  that  Wagner  avoided  many  incongruities,  a 
few  citations  are  here  given  from  Ettmueller's  translation  of 
the  Edda: 

Nattersturmfuerst,  p.  4;  Mahlschatz,  pp.  5,  88;  Guelte,  p.  10; 
Wift,  p.  11;  Schwertbaum,  p.  25;  Gaden,  p.  62;  Enke,  p.  63; 
Mannleichbraten,  p.  71;  Schwich,  p.  117,  etc.  The  foot-notes  in 
Ettmueller's  book  take  up  more  space  on  many  pages  than  the 
text.  He  finds  it  necessary  to  translate  his  translation  for  the 
general  reader,  the  reason  for  which  is  clear  in  a  passage  like  the 

following: 

Gestete  sie  mit  Golde     und  guten  Wiften 

eh'  ich  sie  gaebe     zum  Gothenvolk. 

Meiner  Harms     der  haerteste  mir  ist 

dass  sie  die  lichten     Locken  Swanhilds 

im  Hor  mit  Hufen     der  Hengste  traten. — P.  95. 

He  uses:  gellendes  Gold,  p.  16;  schwinde  Schlaege,  p.  44;  ueber 
luetzel  und  laenger,  pp.  78,  99;  denksam,  p.  54;  wutgrimm  wer- 
den,  p.  79;  lasch,  p.  82;  hungerwuetig,  p.  105;  blomig,  p.  116; 
gelsen,  p.  99.  Wagner  wisely  avoided  these  and  similar  expres- 
sions. With  a  very  few  exceptions,  every  word  used  by  him  is 
recognized  by  Grimm  and  Sanders  in  their  dictionaries.     Where 


The  Vocabulary  67 

he  depends  on  others,  he  is  usually  careful  to  choose  expressions 
which  even  the  general  reader  can  understand. 

A.  Simrock's  Translation  of  the  Edda. 

1.  The  various  designations  of  Wotan: 

Walvater,  Woeluspa,  1,  ich  mil  Walvaters  Wirken  kuenden;  22, 
Meth  trinkt  .  .  .  aus  Walvaters  Pfand,  etc. 

Heervater,  Woeluspa,  23,  ihr  gab  Heervater  Halsband  und  Ringe; 
cf.  35,  40;  Grimnismal,  25,  Heidrun  heisst  die  Ziege  vor 
Heervatres  Saal;  cf.  26;  Vafthrudnismal,  2,  daheim  zu 
bleiben,  Heervater,  nahm  ich  dich  in  der  Asen  Gehegen, 
cf.  40;  Hyndluliod,  2,  laden  (wir)  Heervatern  in  unsere 
Herzen. 

Siegvater,  Woeluspa,  54,  nicht  saeumt  Siegvaters  erhabener  Sohn; 
Oegisdrecka,    58,   den   Wolf   bestehn,   der  den   Siegvater 
schlingt. 
Wagner's  work  is  full  of  these  designations. 

2.  The  Ash-tree,  an  exclusive  Norse  feature,  is  repeatedly 
mentioned:  Woeluspa,  19;  Grimnismal,  29,  31,  32,  33,  34,  35,  44. 
All  this  corresponds  to  "Walkuere,"  where  the  house  is  built 
around  the  tree.  Wagner  borrowed  many  features  and  added 
others. 

3.  Several  passages  betray  a  striking  resemblance  to  Simrock's 
translation.  Vafthrudhnismal,  19,  das  Haupt  stehe  hir  in  der 
Halle  zur  Wette  um  weise  Worte;  S.  22,  hir  sitz  ich  am  Herd 
und  setze  mein  Haupt  der  Wissenswette  zum  Pfand.  Gaugrader, 
20,  sage  zum  ersten.  .  .  .  S.  26,  nun,  ehrlicher  Zwerg,  sag  mir 
zum  ersten.  .  .  .  Gaugrader,  44,  viel  erfuhr  ich,  viel  versucht 
ich.  S.  20,  auf  der  Erde  Ruecken  ruehit  ich  mich  viel,  Wan- 
derer, weisst,  du.  .  .  .  Wafthrudnir,  55,  du  wirst  immer  dor 
Weisseste  sein.  S.  27,  der  Witzigste  bist  du  unter  den  Weisen. 
Grogalder,  I,  wache,  Groa,  erwache  gutes  Weib.  S.  74,  wache, 
wache,  Wala  erwach';  cf.  Hyndluliod  1,  with  S.  89,  G.  51.  WOc- 
lundarkwida,  31,  erst  sollst  du  alle  VAdc  mir  Icistcn  bei  Scluvortes 
Spitze.  G.  56,  meines  Schwcrtes  Spitze  wag'  ich  d'ran,  sic  wahr' 
in  Ehren  den  Eid — bei  des  Speeres  Spitze  .sj)rcch  ich  den  I'^id. 
Spitze,  achte  des  Spruchs.  Fafnismal,  35  (die  vierte  Adlerin) 
er  daeuchte  mich  klug,  ge<laccht  er  zu  imotzon  den  Ansclilag. 
S.  01,  ist  mir  doch  als  spraechen  die  Voeglein  zu   mir;  nuotzte 


68  The  Vocabulary 

mil-  das  des  Blutes  Genuss  cf.  S.  66.  Fafnismal,  40,  ein  Weib 
weiss  ich,  ein  wunderschoenes,  goldbegabt,  waer  sie  dir  vergoennt. 
S.  72,  .  .  .  jetzt  wiiesst  ich  ihm  noch  das  herrlichste  Weib. 
Fafnismal,  42,  ein  Hof  ist  auf  dem  hohen  Hindarfiall,  ganz  von 
Glut  umgeben  avissen  .  .  .  auf  dem  Steine  schlaeft  die  Streiter- 
fahrne  und  lodernd  umleckt  sie  der  Linde  Feind.  S.  72,  auf 
hohem  Felsen  sie  schlaeft,  ein  Feuer  umbrennt  ihren  Saal — 85, 
ein  Feuermeer  umflutet  die  Frau,  gluehende  Lohe  umleckt  den 
Fels  .  .  .  es  waechst  der  Schein,  es  schwillt  die  Glut;  sengende 
Wolken,  wabernde  Lohe  waelzen  sich  brennend  und  prasselnd 
herab,  ein  Lichtmeer  umleuchtet  dein  Haupt.  Sigurdrifumal,  1, 
heil  dir  Tag,  heil  euch  Tagessoehnen,  heil  dir  Nacht  und  naeh- 
rende  Erde,  heil  ench  Asen,  heil  euch  Asinnen,  heil  dir  frucht- 
bares  Feld.  S.  89,  heil  dir  Sonne,  heil  dir  Licht,  heil  euch  Goetter, 
heil  dir  Welt,  heil  dir  pragende  Erde,  etc.  Brot  af  Brynhildark- 
widhu,  5,  an  seinem  Leibe  lag  kein  Tadel,  zu  ruegen  war  an  dem 
Reinsten  nichts.  G.  83,  me  die  Sonne  lauter  strahlt  mir  sein 
Licht,  der  Reinste  war  er. 

Besides  these  striking  similarities,  reference  must  be  made  to 
the  other  fact  that  certain  common  and  proper  nouns  are  modi- 
fied by  oft-recurring  adjectives  and  periphrastic  phrases  which 
were  partly  translated  from  the  old  sources,  and  partly  newly 
coined.  Wagner  has  created  none  of  these,  as  he  found  them 
so  he  used  them.  Nothing  is  gained  by  citing  them  all,  and  a 
few  will  suffice  to  prove  our  statement. 

Wala  is  called:  wissendes  Weib,  Vegtamskvidha,  18;  cf.  S. 
75-80;  Urmuetter  Weisheit,  wissendes  Weib,  wissends  Kind,  der 
Welt  weisestes  Weib,  etc. 

The  sword,  like  many  swords  of  old,  is  spoken  of  as  enchanted: 
Skirnir  23,  Siehst  du,  Maedchen,  das  Schwert  das  scharfe,  zau- 
bernde,  das  ich  halt  in  meiner  Hand?  W.  32:  ja,  das  Schwert, 
das  zaubernde,  zuckende  Schwert.  Because  it  was  enchanted, 
Wagner  calls  it:  neidliches  Schwert,  neidlicher  Stahl. 

Bluehende  Braut,  Frau,  bluehendes  Weib,  etc.,  is  another  of 
these  expressions.     Cf.  W.  16. 

Schneller  Degen,  Held,  etc.,  is  a  stereotyped  expression.  In 
Sigurdharkwida  we  have:  ein  hurtiger  Held,  cf.  G.  43,  geschwinder 
Held. 

Wagner,  nevertheless,  created  a  work  of  his  own.     The  narra- 


The  Vocabulary  69 

tives  of  the  Sagas  and  the  Edda  in  their  details  are  often  tame 
and  insipid.  Wagner  imbues  them  witli  life  and  warmth  of  emo- 
tion. This  is  clearly  shown  when  one  carefully  compares  his 
sources  with  his  work.  Wagner  did  for  the  "Ring"  what  Schiller 
did  for  "Tell"  in  his  use  of  the  old  chronicle  of  Tschudi.  Com- 
pare, for  instance,  the  matter-of-fact,  and  to  the  modern  mind, 
somewhat  prosy  advice  that  Bruennhild  gives  to  Siegfried,  after 
her  awakening,  as  told  in  the  Elder  Edda  and  elsewhere  in  the 
Old  Norse  sources.  Here  it  sounds  to  us  much  like  the  advice 
of  a  mother  concerned  for  the  welfare  of  her  son.  First  is  the 
weary  explanation  of  the  runes;  then:  das  rat  ich  zuvoerderst, 
das  rat  ich  zum  andern,  das  rat  ich  zum  dritten — all  the  way 
up  through  the  units  to:  das  rat  ich  zum  eilften!  It  is  true  that 
Siegfried  is  captivated  by  Bruennhild's  wisdom,  and  they  plight 
their  troth  as  the  result.  Wagner,  however,  true  to  his  principle 
of  dramatic  development,  lays  stress  on  the  emotional  part,  giv- 
ing us  a  scene  of  pure  and  undefiled  love  nowhere  surpassed  in 
our  literature.  And  it  is  all  his  own.  Compare,  too,  strophe  2, 
Brot  af  Brynhildarkvidhu  and  G.  84,  where  a  surprising  vocabu- 
lary is  noticeable,  and  see  what  Wagner  made  of  a  few  meagre 
hints: 
Simrock: 

mir  hat  Sigurd  Eide  geschworen,   Eide  geschworen  und 
alle  gebrochen. 
Ettmueller: 

Sigurd   einstens  schwur   mir  Eide,   Eide  schwur  er,   alle 
log  er.     Da  trog  er  mich,  da,  traun!  er  soUte  alle  aufrecht 
halten,  p.  37. 
Wagner : 

aechter  als  er  schwur  keiner  Eide,  treuer  als  er  hiclt  keiner 

Vertraege,  lautrer  als  er  liebte  kein  and'rer!     I'lid  dnch 

alle  Eide,  alio  Vertraege,  die  trauteste  Liol)e  Irug  keiner 

wie  er!     O  ihr,  der  Eide  heilige  Ilueter!  Icnkt  (Mucn  i^iick 

auf  mein  bluehendes  Leid:  erschaut  eure  Schuld!     Meine 

Klage  hoer',  du  hchrster  Gott! 

In  the  discourse  between  Mime  and  Siegrficd  bcfnic  the  battle 

with  Fafner,  each  source  differs  from  tlie  otlier  in  conteiii.  but. 

each  is  alike  in  dullness.     Wagner's  strong  scene,  S.  51    f.,  loo 

long  for  citation  here,  notwithstanding  the  striking  similarities 

of  vocabulary,  is  a  creation  entirely  his  own. 


70  The  Vocabulary 

B.   The  Voelsungensaga 

Wagner  used  von  der  Hagen's  translation^  of  this  saga,  as  a 
letter  to  Uhlig,  November  11,  1851,  shows.  Here  one  can  dis- 
tinguish two  features:  certain  hints  which  he  took,  working  them 
out  in  his  own  way,  and  a  dependency  on  verbal  construction. 
In  the  following  comparison  "H"  stands  for  v.  d.  Hagen;  the 
other  abbreviations  are  already  familiar: 

H.,  p.  152,  nun  ward  die  Hochzeit  zugeruestet  und  kam  dazu 
eine  grosse  Volksmenge.  Wagner,  no  doubt,  utilized  this,  and 
with  his  own  knowledge  of  old  Germanic  marriage  customs, 
worked  out  the  well-known  scene  in  G.  After  all  the  harm  had 
been  done  and  Bruennhild  had  suffered  untold  agony  by  reason 
of  Siegfried's  attitude  towards  her,  he  made  to  her  the  following 
confession:  H.,  p.  147,  ich  erinnerte  mich  nicht  deines  Namens, 
und  nicht  erkannte  ich  dich  eher  als  bis  du  vermaehlt  warst,  und 
dieses  ist  der  groesste  Harm.  Wagner's  conception  of  the 
"Vergessenheitstrank,"  with  all  its  serious  consequences  and  the 
tragic  result,  is  probably  based  on  these  lines,  which  he  has 
again  worked  over  carefully  according  to  old  traditions.  Fouque 
describes  this  episode  at  length,  and  perhaps  with  too  much 
detail,  since  it  occupies  the  greater  part  of  the  third  "Abend- 
theuer."  Wagner  has  gone  entirely  his  own  way.  Again,  in  a 
number  of  Sagas,  notably  in  the  Voelsunga  and  Wilkina,  the 
brotherhood  (Bruederschaft)  of  heroes  is  mentioned  and  even 
described  to  some  extent.  Voelsunga  stjdes  it  "  Stallbrueder- 
schaft."  Wilkina,  "Stall-  and  Waffenbruederschaft."  Grimm 
actually  uses  "Blutbruederschaft,"  Edda,  p.  80,  which  brings 
Wagner's  use  of  the  word  quite  near  to  us.  Some  of  the  Voel- 
sunga matter  is  freely  embodied  in  Wagner's  stage  directions — 
and  here  he  copied  much  more  freely  than  in  the  text.  A  few 
such  passages  are  entered  almost  verbally  from  H.  Examples 
follow  later. 

"Rheingold"   is   almost   exclusively   Wagner's   own   creation, 
but  one  leading  feature  is  taken  from  the  Voelsunga: 

H.  23: 

Loki  sah  nun  das  Gold,  so  Andwari  hatte,  aber  als  dieser  das  Gold 
hervorgebracht  hatte.  .  .   . 


1  Nordische  Heldenromane.     Uebersetzt  durch  Fridrich  Heinrich  von  der 
Hagen,  Breslau,  1814. 


The  Vocabulary  71 

R.  56: 

so  heischt  was  ihr  begehrt,  den  Hort  vind  sein  helles  Gold  dorthin  ge 
fuehrt,  das  Gold,  Tvie  ich's  befahl  .  .  . 

H.: 

da  behielt  er  einen  Ring,  auch  den  .  .  . 

R.  59: 

ein  gold'ner  Ring  ragt  dir  am  Finger,  hoerst  du,  Alp,  der  gehoert  niit 
zu  dem  Hort. 

H.: 

der  Zwerg  gieng  in  den  Stein  imd  sprach,  dass  es  jedem  den  Tod  bringen 
sollte,  der  den  Ring  haette  und  ebenso  das  Gold. 

R.  61: 

verflucht  sei  der  Ring!  gab  sein  Gold  mir  Macht  ohne  Mass,  nun  zeug 
sein  Zauber  Tod  der  ihn  traegt. 

H.: 

die  Asen  gaben  das  Gold  und  stopften  damit  den  Otterbalg  aus  und 
sah  noch  ein  Barthaar  und  gebot  das  zu  verhuellen — 

R.  67: 

This  is  filling  with  gold  the  measure  of  Freia's  height.     The  tarucap 
fills  one  gap,  the  ring  the  other,  and  thus  hides  the  piercing  glance  of 
Freia's  eye. 
"Walkuere"    bears    many    resembrances    to    the    translation 
before  us: 

H.  13: 

ein  Mann  trat  herein  in  den  Saal — er  hatte  einen  tiefen  Hut  auf,  er 
war  sehr  lang  und  bejahrt  und  einaeugig. 

W.  18: 

ein  Fremder  trat  da  herein,  ein  Greis — tief  hing  ihm  der  Hut,  er  deck't 
ihm  der  Augen  eins. 

H.  6: 

er  zog  das  Schwert  aus  und  stiess  es  in  den  Stamm,  so  dass  das  Schwert 
bis  an  das  Heft  liinein  fuhr. 

W.  18: 

ein  Schwert  stiess  er  nun  in  der  Esche  Stamm,  bis  zum  Heft  haftct 
68  drin. 

H.: 

wer  dieses  Schwert  aus  dem  Stamme  zieht,  der  soil  es  voii  mir  zur 
Gabe  nehmen. 

W.  18: 

dem  soil  der  Stahl  geziemen,  der  aus  dem  Stamm  cs  zocg'. 


72  The  Vocabulary 

H.: 

da  giengen  die  edelsten  Maenner  zuerst  hinzu,  damach  jeder  der 
andem.  Keiner  aber  kam,  der  es  lierauszog,  denn  es  ruehrte  sich 
keineswegs  ... 

W.  18: 

Gaeste  kamen  und  Gaeste  giengen,  die  Staerksten  zogen  am  Stahl — 
keinen  ZoU  entwich  es  dem  Stamm.     Cf.  S.  27. 

H.  14: 

ich  will  nun  freudig  mit  ihm  sterben,  den  ich  genoetigt  zum  Manne  hatte. 

W.  18: 

er  freite  ein  Weib,  das  ungefragt  Schaecher  ilim  schenkten  zur  Frau. 
H.: 

du  gelist  mit  einem  Knaben  schwanger,  pflege  dessen  wohl  .  .  . 

W.  68: 

lebe,  o  Weib — rette  das  Pfand,  das  von  ihm  du  empfiengst:  ein  Wael- 
sung  waechst  dir  im  Schoss.     Cf.  S.  16. 

H.: 

verwahre  wohl  die  Schertstuecke  .  .  . 

S.  27: 

nun  verwahrt  die  Stuecken  ein  weiser  Schmied. 

H.  22: 

.  .  .  fuhr  Sigurd  zu  Walde  und  begegnete  einem  alten  Manne — er 
frug  wohin  Sigurd  fahren  wollte. 

S.  80: 

(Wanderer):  wohin,  Knabe,  heisst  dich  dein  Weg. 

H.: 

ich  weiss  dir  grossen  Hort  nachzuweisen. 

S.  33: 

ich  weiss  einen  schlimmen  Wurm. 
H.: 

Sigurd  fragte  wo  er  waere. 

S.  33: 

wo  liegt  er  im  Nest. 
H.: 

er  heisst  Fafnir  und  liegt  nicht  weit  von  hir  entfernt,  has  heist  Gnyta- 
Heide. 

S.  33: 

Neid-hoehle  wird  er  genannt,  im  Ost  am  Ende  des  Walds. 

H.  24: 

(Reigin)  schmiedete  ein  Schwert  und  gab  es  Sigurden — mit  diesem 
Schwerte  wirst  du  Fafnini  erschlagen  koeunen. 


The  Vocabulary  73 

S.  8: 

(Mime) :  ich  schuf  die  Waffe  scharf ,  ilirer  Schneide  wirst  du  dich  freun. 
H.: 

and  hieb  in  den  Ambos  und  das  Schwert  zerbrach — er  warf  die  Klinge 
weg  und  bat  ihu,  ein  auder  Scliwert  zu  Schmieden. 

S.  8: 

hei,  was  ist  das  fuer  muessiger  Tand!  Den  schwachen  Stift  nennst 
du  ein  Schwert?  (Stage  direction):  er  zerschlaegt  es  auf  dem  Ambos, 
dass  die  Stuecken  ringsum  fliegen. 

H.: 

du  sagtest,  dass  der  Drache  nicht  groesser  waere  denn — ^aber  mir 
scheint  seine  Spur  uebergross. 

S.  51: 

.  .  .  unmassen  grimmig  ist  er  und  gross. 
H.  27: 

er  spruehte  immenveg  Gift  vor  sich  her. 
S.  52: 

giftig  giesst  sich  ein  Geifer  ilim  aus. 
H.: 

wer  bist  du  und  wer  ist  dein  Vater. 
S.  53: 

wer  bist  du,  kuelmer  Knabe. 
H.: 

da  stach  ihn  Sigurd  unter  den  linken  Bug,  so  dass  das  Schwert  bis  an 
das  Heft  hineinfuhr. 

S.  59: 

und  stoesst  sein  Schwert  bis  an  das  Heft  hinein. 
H.: 

wer  reizte  dich  zu  solcher  Tat? 

S.  60: 

wer  reizte  des  ICindes  Mut  zu  der  mordUchen  Tat. 
H.: 

sage  mir,  Fafnir,  wenn  du  so  weise  bist  .  .  . 
S.  60: 

wci.so  ja  scheinst  du  .   .   . 
H.  28: 

da  sitzt  lioigiii  und  will  l)ctruci:;cii  den,  der  ilmi  I  rant. 

S.  66: 

o  traute  er  Mime  dem  Treuloseu  nicht. 
H.: 

Sigurd  merkte  nun  was  dor  Hongat  wolltn  und  spnmu:  ilmi  tud  <lcii 
Ruecken — da  raiuite  dor  Hcug.st  als  wcnii  cr  ledig  wacro. 


74  The  Vocabulary 

S.  73: 

fort  jagt's  mich,  jauchzend  von  hinnen — 

H.  29: 

.  .  .  und  sah  dass  ein  Mann  sclilief,  und  lag  in  voUer  Ruestung. 
S.  87: 

ha!  in  Waffen  ein  Mann. 
H.: 

er  nahm  ihm  zuvoerderst  den  Helm  vom  Haupte  und  sah,  dass  es  ein 
Weib  war  ...  da  schlitzte  Sigurd  den  Panzer  vom  Haupt  bis  ganz 
hemieder  und  an  beiden  Seiten  entlang. 

S.  88: 

(Stage  direction):  vorsichtig  loest  er  den  Helm — er  durchschneidet 
mit  zarter  Vorsicht  die  Panzerringe  zu  beiden  Seiten  der  ganzen  Rues- 
tung— 

H.: 

Giuki's  Reich  stund  mit  grossem  Ruhm. 

G.  15: 

.  .  .  sage  mir,  Held,  sitz  ich  herrlich  am  Rhein,  Gunther  zu  Gibichs 
Ruhm. 
H.: 

eines  Abends  da  sie  beim  Trunke  sassen  stund  die  Koenigin  auf  und 
trat  vor  Sigurden  und  gruesste  ihn. 

G.  22: 

willkommen  Gast,  in  Gibichs  Haus!  Seine  Tochter  reicht  dir  den 
Trunk. 

H.: 

eines  Abends  schenkte  Gudrun  Sigurden:  Sigurd  sah,  dass  sie  ein 
schoenes  Weib  war— 

G.  23: 

ha!  schoenstes  Weib,  schliesse  den  Blick,  das  Herz  in  der  Brust 
brennt  mir  sein  Strahl. 

H.  35: 

Gunnar  spracli,  wir  bieten  euch  unsere  Schwester  dar.  .  .  , 

G.  25: 

(Gunther) :  Gudnme  goenn  ich  dir  gem. 
H.: 

.  .  .  eure  Herrschaft  steht  nun  mit  grossem  Ruhme,  ausser  dass  ihr 
noch  unvermaehlt  seid. 

G.  16: 

in  sommerlich  reifer  Staerke  seh  ich  Gibichs  Stamm,  dich,  Gunther, 
unbeweibt. 


The  Vocabulary  75 

H.  36: 

den  allern  will  sie  haben     der  durch  das  brennende  Feuer  reitet,  das 
um  ihren  Saal  geschlagen  ist. 

G.  16: 

ein  Feuer  umbrennt  ihren  Saal;  nur  wer  durch  das  Feuer  bricht,  darf 
Bruennhildes  Freier  sein. 

H.: 

und  brann  aussen  umher  ein  Feuer. 

S.  90: 

Feuer  .  .  .  das  den  Felsen  umbrann. 
H.: 

nun  ward  die  Hochzeit  zugeruestet  und  kam  dazu  eine  grosse  Volks- 
menge. 

G.  46: 

.  .  .  du,  Hagen,  minnig  rufe  die  Mannen  nach  Gibichs  Hof  zur  Hoch- 
zeit. 

H.: 

.  .  .  und  eine  grosse  Luege  ist  solches. 
G.  57: 

du  listiger  Held,  sieh  wie  du  luegst. 


C.     Fouque,  '^Sigurd  der  Schlangentoeter 


>n 


Wagner  was  acquainted  with  this  work,  and  we  have  reason 
to  assume  that  he  studied  it  closely.  Some  scenes  nearly  re- 
semble those  of  the  "Ring,"  such  as  the  killing  of  the  dragon 
and  Gunther's  house  and  home  in  the  first  scene  of  G.  There 
are  also  similarities  of  language  and  vocabulary,  but  so  few, 
after  all,  that  they  are  apparently  wholly  accidental,  in  that 
both  writers  used  similar  sources.  After  carefully  weighing  the 
results  of  the  comparison,  it  is  apparent  that,  though  Wagner 
at  times  follows  his  sources  rather  closely,  he,  nevertheless, 
stands  aloof  from  any  modern  Nibelung-poem.  Foucjuc!  no- 
where rises  to  the  height  of  Wagnerian  description.  For  Hin- 
derfiall  he  has  found  only  one  word,  repeating  it  time  and  again 
— Flammenzaun.  One  of  the  loftiest  descriptions  is  given  oti 
p.  126  f.  He  calls  the  sleeping  person  on  the  mountain:  ein 
JuenglingslMid — why  not  even  Mannsbild  or  Frauciizimmer — 
mein  Knab',  du  bist  ein  traeger  Ilueter  diesein  Jiau;  O  iiiir,  os 


^Der  Held  des  Nordens,  von  Fr.  Baron  de  la  Motte-Fouqu<^',  Erster  Tcil, 
Berlin,  1810. 


76  The  Vocabulary 

ist  kein  Knab' — eiu  Jungfraeulein,  das  Abbild  aller  Huld  und 
Lieb'sgewalt.  It  is  a  weak  figure  compared  with  Wagner's 
sleeping  Bruennhild.  Equally  weak  is  Fouque's  Sigurd — a  poor 
benedick.  He  doubts  whether  he  can  go  along  to  get  Bruenn- 
hild, he  feels  he  ought  to  stay  at  home  with  wife  and  child.  He 
even  resorts  to  a  subterfuge,  claiming  that  King  Giuke  is  not  in 
favor  of  such  an  expedition  (p.  121).  What  a  tame  hero  com- 
pared with  Wagner's  Siegfried  even  in  G.,  from  the  drink  of 
Blutbruederschaft  down  to  the  bitter  end!  It  has  already  been 
mentioned  that  Wagner  happily  avoided  the  explanation  of  the 
runes  and  the  motherly  advice  of  Bruennhild;  Fouque's  Bryn- 
hildis  begins  with  Siegrunen  and  continues  down  through  the 
list.  His  passage  describing  the  drinking  of  Blutbruederschaft 
runs  thus:  ...  so  mir  Odhin  hilfreich  sei  .  .  .  gelob  ich,  Sigurd, 
dir  Genossenschaft,  gelob  ich  dir  zur  Hilfe  meine  Hand,  mein 
Gold,  mein  Reich,  und  meine  Kriegsgesellen  (p.  115).  This 
sounds  as  though  a  modern  lawyer  had  written  it  in  full  accord- 
ance with  the  law.  Cf.,  on  the  other  hand,  G.  26,  for  dramatic 
action  and  glowing  color  of  description. 

II.    USE    AND    MEANING   OF   WORDS 

A.     Middle  High  German  Words 
Bruenne 

Appears  several  times,  W.  73,  S.  88,  93,  94.  Twice  it  alliter- 
ates with  Bruennhilde,  once  with  Brunst,  twice  with  p,  prangend, 
Panzer.  Kluge  calls  it  a  recently-borrowed  word  from  mhg. 
Jordan  uses  it.  Ettmueller  and  Simrock  use  it  exclusively  in 
the  Edda,  the  latter  almost  exclusively  in  Nibelungen  Not. 
Grimm  often  uses  Panzer,  Panzerhemd.  Ettmueller,  p.  20: 
was  schnitt  die  Bruenne;  33  in  die  Goldbruenne  fuhr  sie;  55  und 
die  Bruenngehuellten  .  .  .  ;  105  der  Bruennkuehne ;  110  Breunn- 
brecher;  Simrock:  Helgakwida  6,  wie  ist  dir  mit  Blut  die 
Bruenne  bespritzt.     Cf.,  also,  43;  Gripispa,  15. 

Friedel 

Is  used  four  times,  R.  8,  10,  63;  G.  66.  In  mgh.  it  is  always 
a  masc.  substantive:  der  vriedel;  cf.  Kudrun  775,  es  habe  einen 
vriedel  diu  herliche  maid;  Walther  v.  d.  Vogelw.,  "Unter  der 
Linde,"  the  young  woman  says:  do  was  min  friedel  komen  e; 


The  Vocabulary  77 

cf.,  also,  Dietmar  v.  Aist,  Tageliecl:  slafest  du,  min  vriedel. 
Wagner  uses  it  as  a  masculine,  but  once  as  a  feminine,  R.  8,  Alber- 
ich  to  Woglinde:  mein  Friedel  sei.  Most  translators  use  it; 
Simrock,  Edda.  p.  195,  doch  hiess  ich  der  Friedl  nun  seiner  Frau; 
Ettmueller,  Edda,  p.  30,  doch  seiner  Frauen  Friedl  hiess  ich. 
The  word  is  not  used  outside  of  this  field,  it  is  even  rare  in  older 
Mhg.,  Gesta  Rom.,  und  die  nam  eines  Nachts  ihrem  mann  die 
sluessel  aus  dem  haupt  (from  under  the  pillow)  und  tet  die  tuer 
heimlichen  auf  und  gieng  aus  zu  irem  friedel.  Wagner  also  uses 
the  word  frieden,  which  is  obsolete;  G.  18,  ist  er  der  herrlichste 
Held  der  Welt,  der  Erde  holdeste  Frauen  fried et en  laengst  ihn 
schon;  G.  57,  doch  Frauengroll  friedet  sich  bald.  Also  used  by 
the  translators:  Hagen,  Wilkina,  chap.  25,  .  .  .  befreite  und 
friedete  das  Fand;  Voelsunga,  ihr  Land  frieden;  Simrock  feels 
the  necessit}^  of  using  the  modern  prefix:  Nib.  Not,  die  iu  vriden 
helfen:  die  euch  befrieden  helfen. 

Gesell 

Is  used  twice,  W.  46,  S.  86.     In  mhg.  it  had  a  two-fold  meaning: 

(a)  companion,  Nib.  Not.  64,  343,  769,  1153,  etc.;  in  2082 
Hagen  calls  Volker  his  geselle,  in  582  geverte  is  used.  In  Iwein 
2115  Landine  the  queen  calls  her  maid  geselle:  Weistu  aber, 
geselle,  rehte  ob  er  mich  welle,  thus  being  used  as  mascl.  and  fem. 

(b)  as  lover,  husband.  In  2339  Iwein  has  at  last  the  opportunity 
to  speak  to  the  queen,  he  assures  her  that  this  is  his  happiest 
day:  got  ruoche  nur  das  heil  bewarn,  das  wir  gesellen  muesen 
sin.  The  situation  in  W.  is  almost  identical,  lioth  meanings 
are  further  illustrated  by  Walther  v.  d.  Vogelweide,  "  Unlu.st 
der  Zeit:"  wan  das  ich  nicht  gesellen  han  (companion)  and 
Ereck  1124,  1141,  where  the  wife  of  Artus  calls  her  husband 
geselle.  Wagner  uses  the  word  in  its  old  sense  as  lover,  but  in* 
the  mascl.  and  neuter.  Siegmund  calls  himself  the  Ge.sell  of  his 
betrothed:  Siegmund  ist  dir  Gesell,  and  S.  86,  Siegfried:  jotzt 
lock  ich  ein  liebes  Gesell.  No  examples  are  found  in  the  trans- 
lators, but  l>avarian  has  it,  cf.  Schmeller:  Gcsoll,  ami  Cicsclliii 
for  the  beloved  one,  Gelieljte. 

Geschmeide. 

Von  der  Hagen:  Amilias  and  Wicland  at  the  court  of  Nidung 
vie  with  one  another  as  to  whom  should   belong  the  honor  of 


78  The  Vocabulary 

being  the  best  smith.  Amilias  says  in  Wilkina,  chap.  21:  und 
nimmer  will  ich  das  zugeben,  dass  dein  Geschmeide  besser  sei. 
Here  used  in  its  old  meaning,  gesmide,  a  forged  metal.  Simrock, 
Nib.  Not,  1269:  si  heten  noch  gesmide,  das  man  devor  riet — sie 
haetten  noch  Geschmeide,  meaning  metal  ornaments  for  horses. 
Edda,  Regismal  26:  im  Schleier  sass  sie,  ein  Geschmeid  auf  der 
Brust;  cf.  34:  nun  sass  er  und  beschenkte  mit  Schmuck  und 
Geschmeide.  Thus  Wagner.  Mime  remonstrates  with  Sieg- 
fried for  destroying  the  sword  which  he  forged,  S.  5:  er  knickt 
und  schmeisst  es  entzwei,  als  schuef  ich  Kindergeschmeid — not 
a  toy  for  children,  but  a  sword  so  weak  as  though  forged  by 
children;  S.  9,  Siegfried  still  angered  by  Mimi's  poor  workman- 
ship: waer  mir  nicht  schier  zu  schaebig  der  Wicht,  ich  zer- 
schmiedet'  ihn  selbst  mit  seinem  Geschmeid. 

Mannen 

Is  invariably  used  by  von  der  Hagen  in  Wilkina,  meaning,  of 
course,  a  vassal  (Lehnsmann).  Simrock  in  Nib.  Not,  usually 
writes  Bann,  not  always  with  good  judgment.  Wagner  reaches 
back  to  the  old  word,  G.  46:  rufe  die  Mannen  .  .  .  ihr  Gibichs 
Mannen,  machet  euch  auf  .  .  .  ihm  folgen  der  Magen  feindliche 
Mannen,   G.   48. 

Mage 

Appears  twice.  W.  13,  vermaehlen  woUte  der  Magen  Sippe, 
and  G.  48,  cited  a  few  lines  above.  As  a  modern  word,  it  is  rare. 
In  the  sixteenth  century  it  is  occasionally  used.  Brant,  Narren- 
schiff:  das  kind  sein  eltern  btrugt  und  mog.  In  the  seventeenth 
century  it  was  less  frequentl)^  used  in  literature,  but  retained 
as  a  legal  term;  cf.  Grimm,  Wtb.  The  eighteenth  century  tried 
to  revive  it,  but  without  success;  Wieland  and  Buerger  use  it. 
No  one  did  more  to  rehabilitate  it  than  the  translators.  Ett- 
mueller  uses  it  throughout  in  the  Edda,  about  fifteen  times:  nun 
ist  Yngwis  Mag  zu  uns  kommen,  II  Sigl. ;  und  den  werten  Soehnen, 
den  mutigen  Magen,  Lied  von  Hamdir;  wird  der  Maenner  Mag- 
schaft  dann  auch  Freundschaft  werden,  I  Sigl.;  maechtige  Mag- 
schaft  warb  ich,  Groenl.  Lied  von  Atli.  Wagner's  use  of  it  is, 
nevertheless,  unfortunate.  Even  Ettmueller  feels  constrained  to 
explain  it  in  a  foot-note.  Wagner's  passage,  W.  13,  is  so  peculiar 
that   an  acquaintance  with   historical  German  is  necessary  to 


The  Vocabulary  79 

make  it  intelligible.  The  only  justification  for  the  use  of  the 
word  by  Wagner  is  the  fact  that  the  translators  have  used  it 
and  its  environment  in  the  text.  The  whole  passage  bears  the 
mark  of  martial  description;  Tross,  Kampf,  Grimm,  ilord, 
Rache — words  expressing  the  mood  and  intention  of  the  avenger. 

Minne. 

Grimm,  Simrock,  Ettmueller,  von  der  Hagen  and  others  use 
it  without  reservation.  It  is  treated  here  because  Wagner  uses 
it  in  a  peculiar  sense,  with  its  verb,  adjective,  adverb  and  in 
various  compounds.  ]\Ihg.  had  no  word  which  could  convey 
the  deep,  soulful  and  pure  love  toward  God  or  woman  as  did 
this  one.  The  Court  Epics  and  the  Minnesong,  especially  that 
of  Walt  her  and  Kuerenberg,  give  ample  proof  of  this.  Mlmar 
notes  that  the  word  contains  "the  meaning  of  love  of  enraptured 
youth,  it  is  German  love,  a  silent,  longing  meditation  upon  the 
beloved  one,  a  sweet  contemplation  of  the  gracious  one  whose 
name  dare  not  even  be  uttered."  In  the  sad  decay  of  mhg. 
classicism,  the  word  began  to  lose  its  pure  meaning,  so  that  in 
Luther's  time  it  conveyed  the  idea  of  lewdness  (Bufilschaft), 
which  compelled  him  to  reject  it.  Sincere  efforts  have  been  made 
by  modern  writers  to  restore  it,  but  they  have  unhapj)ily  used 
it  as  a  designation  for  love  in  general.  Wagner  gives  it  its  old 
specific  meaning.  It  is  not  necessary  to  quote  every  instance 
of  it. 

Substantive,  W.  28,  der  Minne  Zauber  entzueckte  sie;  cf.  R.  10, 
18;  W.  13;  G.  11,  23,  58,  69,  87.  Verb,  R.  13,  das  Maedchen 
das  du  minnst;  cf.  W.  46,  77.  Adjective,  S.  13,  dein  minniges 
Weibchen.  Adverb,  W.  84,  und  darf  nicht  minnig  mein  Gruss 
dich  mehr  gruessen;  cf.  G.  46.  Besides  these  he  has  a  feminine 
formation:  die  Minnige,  R.  65,  8.  91;  also  the  plural  compound: 
Wasserminnen,  G.  68.  Wagner  did  not  employ  the  \v<jrd  merely 
for  the  sake  of  restoring  it  to  modern  usage,  but  necde<l  it  to 
convey  a  certain  conception,  since  simultaneously  with  Minne 
he  also  uses  Liebe.  This  is,  however,  only  in  rare  cases:  W.  25, 
29;  S.  13;  G.  35,  86.  The  present  participle  (liebend)  ai)pcars 
twice,  W.  28,  46,  and  Geliebte  once,  W.  48.  The  question  arises 
why  these  words  were  used  interchangeably.  Allitcratinn  may 
have  prompted  it   in  some  cases,  but  Liebe  was  no  doubt  used 


80  The  Vocabulary 

to  express  the  intrepidity  of  love,  which  is  entirely  distinct  from 
Minne,  which  designates  the  sentimental  element.     Young  Sieg- 
fried sees  the  birds  in  the  forest,  they  build  nests,  feed  and  rear 
their  young;  he   sees  stags,   and   foxes,   and   wolves;  the   male 
brings  food,  the  female  suckles  the  young;  in  the  midst  of  the 
storm  and  stress  of  life,  in  the  struggle  for  existence,  he  learns 
what  Liehe  is.     Analogous  to  this  is  Bruennhild's  experience. 
Gods,  men  and  circumstances  have  driven  her  from  one  struggle 
to   another;  through   strife  and  deceit   she  learns  that   neither 
worldly  possessions,  nor  gold,  nor  the  splendor  of  the  gods,  neither 
house  nor  home,  nor  anything  under  the  sun  brings  that  felicity 
for  which  the  heart  of  poor  mortal  longs:   sehg  in  Lust  und  Leid 
laesst  nur  die  Liehe  sein.     One  feels  at  once  that  Minne  is  too 
weak  a  word,  and  entirely  out  of  place  in  such  a  connection. 
Mhg.  clearly  brings  out  this  observation,  and  we  may  assume 
that  Wagner  learned  to  feel  the  distinction  in  his  sources.    There, 
in  a  number  of  cases,  Liebe  alliterates  with  Leid,  as  it  does  in  our 
text.     In  Ditmar's  Tagelied,  already  cited  in  another  connection, 
the  lover  has  been  awakened  by  his  beloved  one,  and  is  thereby 
reminded    of   an   abrupt    and,    for   him,    cruel    separation.     He 
laments:   liep  ane  leit  mac  niht  gesin.     In   his  Iw^ein,  Hartman 
von  Aue  brings  the  two  friends,  Iwein  and  Gawein,  together  in 
single  combat.     According  to  mediaeval  custom,  the  heroes  open 
their  visors  and  make  themselves  known  to  each  other  after  the 
combat,  and  when  each  recognizes  with  w^hom  he  fought:    do 
wonte  under  in  zweien  Hebe  bi  leide.     The  objection  that  Minne 
is  out  of  place  w^hen  two  men  are  concerned  strengthens  the 
argument.     Cf.  Nib.  Not,  17,  224. 

Misseivende 

Is  used  twice,  but  in  one  sentence,  W.  8:  Missewende  folgt  mir 
wohin  ich  fliehe,  Missewende  naht  mir  wohin  ich  mich  neige. 
Wolzogen  says,  "This  pecuUar,  sullen  goddess  is  well  known  to 
the  older  poets;  to  them  it  did  not  only  mean  misfortune,  but 
that  which  must  be  morally  reproved."  This  is  true,  but  no 
moral  wrong  has  yet  been  committed  by  Siegmund ;  nothing  has 
yet  happened  in  the  play,  and  what  he  did  before  coming  upon 
the  scene  is  morally  justifiable.  It  could  not  have  been  Wagner's 
intention  to  use  the  word  in  this  sense.     That  it  was  chosen  with 


The  Vocabulary  81 

conscious  intention  is  clear,  for  even  if  he  had  wished  to  go  back 
to  mhg.,  he  would  have  found  such  words  as  unheil,  unsaelde; 
moreover,  he  avoids  the  word  in  all  succeeding  passages,  using 
in  its  place  Unheil.  Compare  the  answer  that  Sieglinde  gives  in 
the  next  lines.  Siegmund  is  a  martyr  to  fatalism,  and  Wagner 
makes  a  clear  distinction  betw-een  that  which  haunts  Siegmund, 
however  abstract  it  may  be  (Missewende),  and  what  he  considers 
as  the  result  of  this  condition  (Unheil).  Here  are  two  distinct 
conceptions;  Missewende  describes  the  cause  of  Siegmund's 
condition,  Unheil  the  effect.  If  both  terms  were  to  be  understood 
synonymously,  Unheil  would  require  the  definite  article;  but  the 
terms  cannot  be  used  interchangeablv,  since  they  do  not  stand 
for  the  same  concept.  The  sources  use  Unheil  without  dis- 
tinction. 

Mut. 

Wagner  seldom  uses  this  in  the  sense  of  courage,  and  rightly 
so,  from  his  point  of  view^  The  word  has  received  a  two-fold 
meaning,  which  may  be  called  the  East  and  the  West  Germanic. 
Gothic  mods,  Luc,  4,  28,  jah  fuUai  waurthun  allai  modis  in  thisai 
synagogein;  Luther,  Zorn;  Gr.  (fyv/xo';.  In  Westgermanic  it 
turned  up  as  equivalent  for  "to  feel,"  "to  desire,"  "to  think;" 
Anglos,  mod,  Engl,  mood,  Ohg.  muot,  animus,  Gemuet.  Lexer 
gives  the  three  ultimate  functions,  cognition,  feeling  and  will, 
indicating  the  totality  of  psychological  disposition.  It  is  re- 
lated to  Lat.  movere,  and  in  our  text  means  inwardly  to  be 
moved.  Modern  German  employs  it  in  this  sense  only,  either 
as  a  compound  (Schwermut,  Sanftmut),  or  modified  by  an 
adjective  (froher  Mut,  grimmer,  grimmiger  Mut).  Wagner 
reaches  back  to  the  old  meaning,  R.  13,  Wut  und  Minne,  wild  iiiid 
maechtig,  wuehlt  mir  den  Mut  auf.  Alberich  is  stirred  by  a 
made  desire  for  the  Rheingold  and  one  of  the  Rhcindaughtcrs. 
lioth  seem  so  distant,  so  unattainable,  that  wrath  and  passicni 
disturb  the  equipo.sc  of  every  soul  function  to  its  very  depth. 
We  have  here  the  same  condition,  a  longing  perfectly  analogous 
to  Alberich  in  Nib.  Not,  3,  der  minniglichen  maide  triuten  wdl 
gezam — ir  muoten  kuene  recken — the  ir  taken  as  gonetive,  gives 
the  idea  of  longing  after  with  one's  whole  soul.  CJ.,  also,  Nib. 
Not,    l*^.     Gottfried   von   Strassburg  u.ses  muot  and    niudlcn   in 


82  The  Vocabulary 

the  same  way.  In  the  land  of  Marke  was  great  excitement  be- 
cause the  inhabitants  had  to  pay  a  yearly  tribute  to  Irland. 
When  Tristan  comes  to  Tintajoel,  seht,  da  gehorte  er  unde  ver- 
nam  in  gazzen  unde  in  strazzen  von  klagen  al  solh  gelazzen,  das 
es  in  muote  starke.  Ettmueller  uses  the  word  without  qualifi- 
cation: Grau'n  will  ich  stiften  aus  grimmen  Mute,  III  Sigl.  It 
is  likely  that  Wagner  learned  the  import  of  this  word  from  the 
translators. 

Nicker. 

Wagner  found  this  in  Grimm,  Mythol.,  I,  p.  456,  Nichus,  a 
water-spirit.  C/.,  also,  A.  Hauffen,  "Zur  Kunde  vom  Wasser- 
mann,"  Forschungen  zur  neueren  Literaturgeschichte,  1898, 
p.  79.  Notice  that  Wagner  also  uses  the  word  in  the  sense  of 
"one  who  nods,"  S.  11. 

Sippe. 

This  has  good  antecedents  in  modern  literature.  Lessing, 
Nathan,  4,  7,  .  .  .  als  Vetter  oder  sonst  als  Sipp  verwandt.  Cf. 
R.  26,  W.  10,  13,  14,  18,  30,  47;  G.  7,  40.  Compounds:  Sippen- 
blut,  W.  14;  Heldensippe,  S.  26.  Simrock  avoids  the  word  in 
Nib.  Not,  2106;  Ettmueller  uses  it  throughout:  w^erden  Giukis 
Soehne  in  Sippen  roeten  ihre  Waffen,  I  Sigl.,  50;  cf.  Ill  Sigl.,  18; 
II  Gudl.,  35;  III  Gudl.,  5,  etc.  He  also  uses  Sippschaft,  but 
not  in  the  modern  contemptuous  sense.  Cf.  Groenl.  Lied  von 
AtU.,  72. 

Schaecher. 

Kluge  marks  this  with  a  cross,  indicating  uncommon  usage. 
Even  Adelung  calls  it  archaic.  All  agree  that  it  was  kept  in  use 
by  the  designation  of  the  two  evildoers  crucified  with  Christ, 
and  for  that  reason  was  retained  in  the  dictionaries;  cf.  Grimm, 
Wtb.  Modern  authors,  Goethe,  Hebbel,  Freiligrath  and  others 
use  it,  but  in  a  very  vague  meaning.  With  them  it  may  be  an 
evildoer  of  any  kind.  Wagner  reaches  back  to  the  original 
meaning:  "to  rob,"  and  even  "to  kill,"  if  necessary.  Vulgate: 
lat rones.  Cf.,  W.  18,  er  freite  ein  Weib,  das  ungefragt  Schaecher 
ihm  schenkten  zur  Frau,  with  Nib.  Not,  1046,  1047,  where 
Gunther  lies  to  his  sister  in  trying  to  free  Hagen  from  guilt  in 
connection  with  Siegrfied's  death:    ich  willz  inch  wizzen  Ian,  in 


The  Vocabulary  83 

sluogen  schachaere — here  Simrock  translates  Schaecher.  In 
R.  55,  Alberich,  the  thief  of  the  Rheingold,  is  called  Schaecher; 
R.  60,  where  Wot  an  has  taken  the  gold  from  Alberich.  is  called 
by  the  same  name,  and  S.  67,  Siegfried  having  killed  Fafner, 
the  former  says:  sein  Tod  graemt  mich  doch  schier,  da  viel 
ueblere  Schaecher  unerschlagen  noch  leben.  The  meaning  in 
each  of  these  instances  is  that  of  a  person  who  wrongfully  and 
b}^  force  takes  what  belongs  to  another.  This  pertains  even  to 
the  theft  of  persons. 

Wal. 

As  early  as  Hans  Sachs,  this  word  had  been  used  as  a  com- 
pound, Walstatt.  Wagner  uses  it  in  a  two-fold  meaning:  (1) 
as  battlefield,  where  he  uses  Wal  and  Walstatt  interchangeably: 
darum  ruestig  und  rasch  reite  zur  Wal,  W.  27;  auf  der  Walstatt 
allein  erschein  ich  Edlen,  W.  49;  (2)  a  howe,  a  heap  of  dead 
bodies,  battle,  death,  and  above  all,  the  prey,  dead  heroes  which 
the  Valkyries  were  to  bring  to  Walhall,  the  abode  of  Wal:  lauerst 
du  hir  luestern  auf  Wal,  jenen  kiese  zum  Fang,  W.  52;  nach 
Walhall  brechen  wir  auf,  Wotan  zu  bringen  die  Wal,  W.  62;  it 
means  the  "choice"  of  a  certain  hero,  or  of  many  heroes,  singled 
out  by  previous  deliberation  for  Walhall.  Our  modern  "Wal- 
statt" does  not  convey  this  conception,  because  the  idea  has 
become  extinct ;  Wagner,  dealing  with  remote  conditions,  could 
hardly  get  along  without  the  word.  Ettmueller  uses  both  words 
in  the  third  Sigurdlied:  kein  so  Ruestiger  reitet  den  Recken  zur 
Wahlstatt;  doch  nicht  zu  Wunsch  die  Wahl  ihr  ist;  ziert  die 
Burg  mit  welscher  Decken  Schmuck,  mit  der  Wahlen  Menge. 

Weia  Waga  Wagalaweia. 

Wolzogen,  p.  100,  "R.  Wagner's  Sprache,"  gives  many  good 
examples  of  what  he  calls  "Jauchzerbildungen,"  uml  in  liis  col- 
lected essays,  "  Wagneriana,"  p.  211  ff.  he  gives  an  excellent 
explanation  of  this  much-ridiculed  formation.  Wagner  also 
explains  it  in  "Gesammclte  Schriftcn,"  ix.  306.  It  is  .Mhg.  wac, 
heilawac.  In  a  letter  to  Nitzsche,  June  12.  1S72,  he  writes: 
"From  Grimm's  .study  (c/.  Mythol.,  p.  55),  I  look  the  old  (Jcrnian 
heilawac,  formed  it  so  as  to  make  it  more  flexible  for  my  purjxjse 
into  Weiawaga,  made  my  own  deriviations  from  the  cognate 
roots  wogen,  wiegen,  wellen,  wallen,  and  thus  formed,  aiuiiogous 


84  The  Vocabulary 

to  the  Eia-Popeia  of  our  nurseries,  a  syllabic  melody  of  roots  for 
my  water-maidens."     Applied  to  the  flowing  water,  and  as  a  song 
for  the  Rheindaughters,  these  words  are  full  of  singular  meaning. 
The  "Ring"  contains  several 

Adjectives 

which  need  special  consideration. 

freislich 

More  objection  has  been  made  to  this  word  than  any  other. 
True,  it  is  no  modern  word.  Even  the  sixteenth  century  used 
it  sparingly.  Aimon,  "Ein  schoen  lustig  geschict  etc.,"  tausend 
freislicher  Schwein.  No  later  writers  use  it;  c/.  Grimm,  Wtb. 
No  examples  were  found  in  the  translators;  Simrock  avoids  it 
in  every  instance:  Nib.  Not,  211,  der  kuene  Sivrit,  der  gewan 
in  dera  sturme  einen  vreislichen  sit :  der  kuehne  Siegfried  gewann 
in  dem  Sturme  einen  furchtbaren  Brauch  (!);  341,  es  pfliget  diu 
kueneginne  so  vrislicher  sit :  so  grimmiger  Sitte  pflegt  die  Koen- 
igin.  In  our  time  it  is  retained  dialectically  in  the  Palatinate 
as  freisterlich  (Gesicht,  Erscheinung),  and  Wagner  must  have 
felt  it  peculiarly  pregnant,  for  he  uses  it  repeatedly,  W.  84;  S.  54; 
G.  17,  47;  freislicher  Fels,  Streit,  Schlund,  Knabe,  freisliches 
Weib. 

glau. 

Appears  once,  R.  11,  schein  ich  nicht  schoen  dir,  glatt  und 
glau.  Its  etymology  is  clear;  cf.  Kluge:  Goth,  glaggwuba,  exact; 
Anglos,  gleov;  Engl,  glee;  Ohg.  glau,  wise,  intelUgent;  Mhg., 
gliihe,  shining.  The  dictionaries  vary  somewhat  in  glossing  it. 
Vilmar:  in  the  Westerwald  it  means  cosy;  Woeste:  munter, 
lebhaft,  schelmisch,  dat  kind  kiket  so  glau;  Lessing  also  found 
the  word,  cf.  Cotta  Ed.,  vol.  16,  p.  134.  ''It  is,"  he  says,  "a 
lower  Saxon  word  which  we  ought,  by  all  means,  take  up  into 
our  language.  It  means  as  much  as  bright,  clear  (hell,  scharf), 
and  is  used  of  the  eyes,"  etc.  Bremer  Wtb.  copies  Lessing's 
definition  and  admonition  almost  verbally,  but  has  nothing  new 
to  add.  Schmeller  gives  the  following  quotation  in  which  the 
same  alliteration  appears  as  in  our  text,  Wiener  Tageblatt, 
March  19,  1850:  "Der  gestrenge  Herr  sass  glatt  und  glau  im 
verschwiegenen    Amtskaemmerlein,    umfangen  von   eines   Lehn- 


The  Vocabulary  85 

stuhls  weicher  Umarmimg."     Glatt  und  glau  is  a  locution  which 
Wagner,  perhaps,  may  have  learned  as  a  child. 

mordlich. 

The  word  is  purely  Mhg.,  and  is  often  used  from  the  fifteenth 
to  the  nineteenth  century.  Simrock  retains  it,  Nib.  Not,  873, 
mort lichen  zorn:  mordlichen  Zorn,  but  995,  mortlichen  sit:  moer- 
derische  Weis';  996  mortliche  erslagen:  meuchlerisch  erschlagen. 
Cf.  Edda,  Sigurdarkwida  40,  Gudrunarkwida  7.  Fouque,  p.  145, 
hei,  hei,  mordliche  Macht.  Grimm,  Edda,  p.  54,  ihre  Brueder 
raten  zu  deinem  mordlichen  Tod.  Wagner,  S.  60,  wer  reizte  das 
Kind  zu  der  mordlichen  Tat. 

neidlich. 

Is  used  ten  times.  Seven  times  with  Stahl  or  Schwert,  W.  25, 
33;  S.  36,  37,  38,  47;  G.  17;  once  with  Macht,  G.  41;  once  with 
Volk,  R.  6;  once  with  Hort,  S.  47.  Etymologically,  it  is  Mhg. 
nitlich,  but  is  not  used  here  in  the  old  sense,  which  was  "hostile," 
"malevolent."  Wagner  wishes  to  convey  the  idea  of  "desir- 
able," "enviable,"  but  never  "envious,"  as  has  been  thought. 
When  he  wishes  to  express  this  latter  idea,  he  uses  the  regular 
adjective  neidisch,  W.  54,  zwei  Leben  .  .  .  nimm  sie  Nothung, 
neidischer  Stahl.  It  is  one  of  Wagner's  preferred  adjective 
formations  in  -lich;  cf.  the  preceding:  mordlich,  also  wehrlich, 
W.  11,  wehrlich  und  stark;  W.  12,  von  dem  wehrlichen  Paar, 
meaning  wehrhaft;  also  sorglich,  which  is  somewhat  ambiguous, 
meaning,  no  doubt,  sorgfaeltig,  R.  52,  der  sorglichste  Schmied; 
cf.  Ettmueller,  p.  49,  da  ich  sorglich  sass;  p.  50,  wie  ich  sinnend 
saes.se  sorglich  dorten. 

unmassen. 

S.  51,  unmas.sen  grimmig  ist  er  und  gross  (der  W'urm).  This, 
the  regular  form  without  umlaut,  is  purely  Mhg.  Cf.  Nib.  Not. 
46,  50,  325,  327,  329,  etc.,  1010  has  the  same  phra.se  as  our  text: 
i^mer  wart  unmazen  groz.  Simrock  uses  it  fre(iuentl\- ;  cf.  his 
translation  of  the  above  quotations,  also  strophe  5:  unmassen 
kuehn. 

There  is  only  one  verb  which  calls  for  special  attention  in  this 
connection: 


86  The  Vocabulary 

kiesen. 

The  present  tense  was  used  by  Klopstock,  Wieland  and  others. 
Wagner  uses  it  in  the  following  connections :  (a)  indefinite,  jemand, 
etwas  kiesen,  R.  11,  W.  52;  (b)  with  a  substantive,  Kampf  kiesen, 
S.  71 ;  (c)  as  a  compound,  Looskieserin,  W.  74.  The  Mhg.  kiesen 
has  manifold  meanings:  to  see,  to  detect.  Nib.  Not,  404;  to  feel, 
1850;  to  behold,  2074;  to  be  convinced,  2327.  Simrock  avoids 
it  in  every  one  of  these  instances,  though  he  uses  it  otherwise: 
Voluspa,  61,  da  kann  Hoernir  selbst  sein  Loos  kiesen.  Von  der 
Hagen,  Voelsunga,  chap.  19,  dass  du  dir  selbst  einen  Mann  kiesen 
sollst;  c/.,  also,  chap.  49;  Ettmueller  uses  kuehren,  p.  31,  kuehren 
die  Toten,  p.  40,  kuehrt  audi  ich  dort;  Fouque,  p.  181,  zu  kuehren 
sich,  p.  176,  zu  boeser  Kuehr  gestellt.  Wagner  uses  it  not  only 
in  the  present  tense,  but  also  (1)  in  the  preterite,  R.  27,  Kampf 
kiesten  wir  nicht,  R.  11,  bei  einer  kieste  mich  keine;  (2)  past 
participle,  W.  52,  dir  ward  das  Loos  gekiest,  S.  22,  mein  Kopf 
ist  dein,  du  hast  ihn  erkiest;  (3)  imperative,  W.  26,  dem  Wael- 
sung  kiese  sie  Sieg.  Also  Kuehr,  W.  44,  bist  du  meines  Wissens 
blind  waehlende  Kuehr. 

B.   Unusual  Words 

In  the  foregoing  pages  the  attempt  has  been  made  to  show 
that,  with  very  few  exceptions,  Wagner  used  only  words  which 
were  used  by  others  before  him;  where  this  was  not  the  case,  he 
took  them  over  from  Mhg.  in  their  old  form.  It  is  evident, 
accordingly,  that  he  was  not  a  creator  of  language  in  so  great  a 
degree  as  some  have  supposed.  His  new  departures  have  no- 
where permanently  impressed  themselves  upon  the  language. 
So  far,  his  language  breathes  the  spirit  of  the  translators  whom 
he  followed,  it  is  flesh  of  their  flesh,  and  bone  of  their  bone. 
There  is,  however,  a  new  category  which  shows  only  a  slight  re- 
semblance to  his  sources.  All  of  these  unusual  words,  with  but 
few  exceptions,  are,  nevertheless,  to  be  found  in  the  dictionaries. 

Fresse. 

Is  a  vulgarism;  S.  58,  eine  zierliche  Fresse  zeigst  du  mir  da, 
said  by  Siegfried  to  Fafner.  The  passage  depicts  the  young  man 
as  an  exuberant  youth,  full  of  wantonness,  but  such  passages  are 
not  uncommon.     " Wallensteins  Lager"  is  a  case  in  point.     Also 


The  Vocabulary  87 

"Faust,"  II,  act  4,  Raufbold:  Wenn  einer  mir  in's  Auge  sieht, 
werd'  ich  ihm  mit  der  Faust  gleich  in  die  Fresse  fahren;  "Eg- 
mont,"  sain  Hals  waer  ein  rechtes  Fressen  fuer  einen  Scharf- 
richter. 

Klinze. 

R.  54,  65.  Is  good  Mhg.,  now  obsolete.  Kluge  marks  it  with 
an  asterisk,  to  denote  uncommon  usage ;  H.  Paul :  it  is  md. ; 
Schmeller  cites  it  in  Wagner's  sense.  Schlegel,  Rueckert  and 
others  use  it,  c/.  Grimm,  Wtb.  Wagner  uses  two  synonj^ms: 
Spalte,  R.  67,  Ritze,  R.  67,  both  referring  to  the  same  thing. 
No  doubt  Klintze  was  used  for  the  purpose  of  alliteration  with 
Kroete  and  Klemme. 

Wach. 

S.  69,  ohne  Wach  und  Wissen.  This  is  not  our  English  watch, 
but  the  condition  of  wakefulness.  Cj.  Bang,  R.  74,  sicher  vor 
Bang  und  Grauen. 

Witzigung. 

R.  57,  eine  Witzigung  waer's,  die  weise  macht.  Formations  in 
-ung  were  more  common  before  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth 
century  than  to-day.  Goenne  meinem  Herzen  diese  Ergiessung, 
"Stella,"  act  4;  hoeren  sie  das  Resultat  meiner  Entschliessungen 
"Julius  von  Tarent,"  act  2,  scene  5;  diese  Witzigung  kannst  du 
auf  Conto  deines  Meuchelmords  hinnehmen,  Fiesco,  act  2,  scene  9. 

Zucht. 

In  the  sense  of  experience,  R.  57,  zu  teuer  nicht  zahl  ich  die 
Zucht.  Wagner  also  uses  it  in  the  regular  sense:  "discipline," 
S.  63,  ich  zog  ihn  auf,  fuer  die  Zucht  zahlt  er  mir  nun — fuer  des 
Knaben  Zucht  will  der  .  .  .  wohl  gar  Koenig  nun  sein. 

gangeln. 

Is  dialectic.  Schmeller:  apparently  identical  with  gankcln, 
to  dangle,  to  rock,  sway.  Grimm,  Wtb.,  says  it  is  common  in 
all  German  dialects;  stem  gank-,  to  dangle. 

lackern. 

S.  29,  was  flackert  und  lackert  .  .  .  umhcr.  Not  found  in  the 
dictionaries,  but  Ettmueller  uses  it:  lackern  wird  sein  Ilaus  in 


88  The  Vocabulary 

der  Lohe  Roete,  p.  117,  having  reference  to  the  conflagration  of 
the  castle.     It  may  possibly  be  Swiss. 

talyen. 

Schmeller  under  "Tolpatsch:"  Hungarian  infantry — talpas, 
broadfooted.  Wagner  may  have  learned  it  in  Switzerland;  here 
there  is  a  masc.  and  fem.  substantive:  Talpe,  a  paw.  Lilien- 
kron,  Volkslieder,  146,  8:  er  (der  Baer)  ward  in  einem  Talpen 
wund,  cj.  Grimm,  Wtb.  No  other  verifications.  Wagner,  R.  37, 
durch  das  Tal  talpen  sie  (die  Riesen).  Again  very  likely  used 
for  the  purpose  of  alliteration. 

tajpipern 

Is  dialectic.  Grimm:  iterative  to  tappen,  as  much  as  tappeln, 
to  walk  clumsily.  Stadler,  I,  266;  in  Silesia:  tapern,  to  be 
slow,  clumsy;  Weinhold,  97:  Nassauisch,  taeppern,  to  dance, 
stamp  with  the  foot  while  dancing.  Wagner,  S.  6,  ich  tapp're 
und  haemm're  nur  well  der  Knabe  es  wuenscht.  Mime  forging 
Siegfried's  sword.  Lower  Alemanic  has  gfaetterle,  to  toy,  with 
daepperle,  to  pound  slightly,  but  quickly,  to  hammer  uselessly. 
Swiss  uses  it  in  the  same  way,  perhaps  Wagner  learned  it  in  Switz- 
erland. 

wabern 

Means  to  move  hither  and  thither,  to  and  fro,  an  old  Ger- 
manic word  equivalent  to  Old  Norse  vafra,  to  move  swingingly, 
said  of  the  flame;  synonym  to  flackern,  to  waver,  Angls.  waefre. 
The  word,  so  far  as  it  has  been  used  at  all,  had  lost  its  original 
meaning,  as  the  following  examples  show:  Luther,  Tischreden, 
der  in  seinem  Lande  guten  Frieden  hielte,  dass  die  Leute  koendten 
sicher  drinnen  wandeln,  wabern  und  handeln.  Vilmar  takes  it 
as  a  frequentive  to  weben,  and  cites  Ferrarius,  die  Fuesse  gehn 
und  wabern;  Grimm,  Wtb.  can  do  no  better,  and  cites  the  same 
examples.  Schmeller  seems  at  a  loss  to  explain  it.  The  rise  of 
Germanic  studies,  and  especially  the  translation  of  the  Edda, 
introduced  the  word  again  in  its  original  meaning.  Grimm, 
Heldensage,  de  ward  sie  von  einem  wabernden  Feuer  umgeben; 
Wagner,  S.  29,  was  schwebt  dort  und  webt  und  wabert  umher; 
S.  80  einen  Felsen  such  ich,  von  Feuer  ist  er  umwabert.  Grimm, 
Wtb.  cites  several  passages  from  Wagner's  "Ring"  as  authentic 


The  Vocabulary  39 

verifications,  ^^'aberiohe  is  also  used.  Simrock,  Fioelswinsmal, 
wie  heisst  der  Saal,  der  umschlungen  ist  mit  Waberlohe;  Ett- 
mueller,  Introduction,  p.  XXVI,  Wafrlogi,  Flackeriohe;  cf.,  also, 
Grimm,  Mythol.,  4,  1500;  Wagner,  W.  85,  sengende  Wolken, 
wabernde  Lohe  waelzen  sich;  W.  86,  herauf,  wabernde  Lohe. 

zullen 

Is  dialectic,  c/.  Paul,  Wtb.,  Sander,  Wtb.,  Zulp.,  sucking  bag, 
Zulper,  a  cigar:  wenn  er  mit  dem  schmauchenden  Nikotin-Zulper 
aus  dem  Laden  tritt;  Schmeller:  is  Franconian,  to  suck.  It  is 
used  dialectically  in  many  parts  of  Saxony,  where  Wagner  may 
have  learned  it  as  a  child;  S.  10,  als  zuUendes  Kind  zog  ich  auf, 
cf.  S.  16. 

With  reference  to  Wagner's  use  of 

Adjectives, 

it  is  needless  to  call  attention  to  the  almost  sublime  naivete  of 
the  translators.  From  a  long  list  in  Ettmueller,  the  following 
may  suffice:  reichgruen,  p.  65,  ratklug  2,  bruennkuehn  105,  not- 
falb  66,  meingemischt  22,  heissgier  72.  Grimm  and  Simrock 
take  the  same  liberty  in  forming  compound  adjectives  which 
are  not  found  in  the  dictionaries.  Compared  with  these  writers, 
Wagner  is  most  conservative,  since  the  whole  "Ring"  contains 
only  four  instances  not  acknowledged  by  the  lexicographers: 
beuteruehrig,  fluchfetrig,  lustfrei,  maidlich.  Their  meaning 
is  easily  determined  by  the  context.  Cf.  Wolzogen,  p.  75  and 
81 ;  magdilch,  S.  76,  die  magdliche  Blume;  G.  11,  meiner  Staerke 
magdlicher  Stamm,  and  fraeulich,  R.  8,  mein  Friedel  sei,  du 
fraeuliches  Kind,  are  unusual,  but  occasionally  used  by  modern 
writers.     Cf.  Grimm,  Wtb.,  also  Ettmueller,  Edda. 

III.    THE    VERBAL    PREFIX 

The  substantive  and  adjective  ])refix  is  regular.  The  reader 
is  nowhere  interrupted  or  surprised  and  never  has  occasion  1<» 
consider  rjuestionable  or  peculiar  formations.  The  verbal  pre- 
fix, however,  is  often  either  used  or  dropi)ed  in  many  cases  whicii 
should  be  pointed  out.  Before  doing  so,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to 
quote  Ettnuieller,  who  in  the  Edda  takes  similar  license: 

foerderst:  zufoerderst,  ring:  gering,  trucgen:  betruegcn,   mal- 


90  The  Vocabulary 

men:  zermalmen,  halsen:  umhalsen;  Grimm,  Edda,  p.  49,  nieden: 
hienieden. 

(1)  The  Prefix  Dropped 
her gen. 

Wagner  uses  it  interchangeably  with  verbergen,  though  the 
language  makes  a  clear  distinction  between  the  two;  cf.  the  past 
participle  of  both:  geborgen,  verborgen,  the  one  meaning  "to 
bring  into  safety,"  the  other,  "to  hide  from  view."  (a)  to  bring 
into  safety,  R.  48,  sonst  birgt  er  sich  schwer  meines  Armes 
Schwunge;  (b)  to  hide  from  view,  R.  23,  die  in  boesen  Bund 
mich  verrieten,  sie  alle  bergen  sich  nun,  cf.  R.  52,  W.  21,  28,  71, 
72,  73;  G.  52. 

denken. 

W.  52,  ich  denk  ihn  zu  faellen  im  Kampf.  Announcement  of 
the  intention  to  carry  out  something  that  has  been  premeditated 
is  usually  expressed  by  gedenken;  cf.  Heyne,  Wtb. 

freuen. 

G.  58,  wen  die  Minne  freut,  meinem  frohen  Mute  tu'  es  der 
Glueckliche  gleich;  here  used  as  a  transitive,  which  is  usually 
rare.     Goethe,  Hafis  gleich  wird  er  die  Voelker  ewig  freuen. 

gehren. 

W.  13,  gehrt  ihr  nach  Wonne,  weckt'  ich  nur  Weh;  used  with 
adverb,  as  here,  it  is  archaic.  Ettmueller,  p.  42,  dass  Gudrun 
gierte  zu  sterben.  Notice  S.  33,  gerne  begehr  ich,  and  G.  67, 
gehren  swert. 

muten 

R.  31,  Ersatz  zu  muten  dem  Mann;  here  for  zumuten,  cf.  W.  29, 
where  it  is  regularly  used:  mir  mute  nicht  zu,  etc. 

schlingen. 

Archaic  for  verschlingen,  S.  33,  der  wuergt'  und  schlang  schon 
viel  (der  wurm). 

schwinden. 

G.  70,  kommt,  Sch western,  schwindet  dem  Toren;  schwinden, 
to  dissolve,  disappear  by  degrees,  Goethe,  die  Hand  wird  nach 
und  nach  schwinden  und  endhch  ganz  verschwinden ;  Wagner, 
S.  41,  nun  schwinde  die  rote  Scham. 


The  Vocabulary  91 

sehren. 

R.  61,  den  sehre  die  Sorge;  W.  16,  die  mit  guessem  Zwange 
mich  sehrt.  As  adj.,  W.  51,  du  sahst  der  Walkuere  sehrenden 
Blick;  as  pres.  partic,  W.  80,  wo  ich  sehrend  mich  wandte.  All 
obsolete.  The  only  modern  form  used  by  Wagner  is  the  past 
partic,  where  he  had  no  choice,  Vv"^.  30,  da  zuerst  du  selbst  sie 
versehrt. 

wirren. 

For  verwirren,  G.  9,  ein  wuestes  Gesicht  wirrt  mir  wuetend  den 
Sinn,  he  also  uses  the  past  partic.  weak:  verwirrt  ist  das  Geweb; 
cf.  Blatz,  Nhd.  Gram.,  I.,  p.  478. 

zuernen. 

G.  57,  glaub'  mir,  mehr  zuernt  es  mich  als  dich,  for  erzuernen. 
Cf.  Heyne,  Wtb. 

schniaehen. 

For  verschmaehen,  R.  16,  des  Goldes  Schmuck  schmaehte  er 
nicht,  wuesste  er  all  seine  Wunder.  When  Albcrich  says,  mir 
gilt  euer  Gold  wenig,  he  does  not  revile,  he  merely  despises  it. 

(2)  The  Prefix   Used 
ertosen. 

W.  72,  schrecklich  ertost  dein  Toben,  cf.  Grimm,  Wtb.,  where 
only  one  other  such  instance  is  cited. 

erducnken. 

S.  91,  denn  mir  allein  crduenkte  Wotans  Gedanke.  Not  a 
dictionary  form.  The  meaning  becomes  clear  when  compared 
with  other  pa.ssages  describing  Bruennhild's  relation  to  Wotan: 
denn  ich  allein  erkanntc,  eriet,  durchschaute,  ahnte  Wotans 
Gedanke. 
erralen. 

For  gewinnen,  erlangen,  to  get  possession  of.  (1.  71,  ditch 
moecht'  er  den  Ring  sich  erraten.  It  does  not  mean  to  guess 
correctly,  though  Wagner  uses  the  wo  id  in  that  sense,  too,  W.  22, 
was  mull  beruckt,  errat  icli  inin  Icicht,  S.  15,  kaum  das  Ko<l<>n 
haett'  ich  erraten. 

erlahen. 

S.  '.')^,  von  dor  ^^ueh  erlab  ihn  ein  Trunk. 


92  The  Vocabulary 

erheben. 

G.  75,  ihm  sollt  er  den  Hort  nur  erheben,  seems  to  stand  for 
the  well-known  idiom:  den  Schatz  heben, 

entfragen. 

W.  41,  so  leicht  ja  entfrug  mir  Fricka  den  Trug. 
enttagen. 

G.    17,   so  ungeheurer  Tat  enttagte  des  Helden  Ruhm.     Cf. 
Grimm,  Wtb.,  under  ertagen,  but  notice  that  Wagner  uses  this 
latter  also,  W.  31,  nichts  lerntest  du  eh'  dir  ertagte  die  Tat. 
enttrinken. 

W.    80,    ueppigen   Rausch   enttrankst   du   lachend   der   Liebe 
Trank. 

entschlagen. 

W.  81,  du  zeugtest  ein  edles  Geschlecht,  kein  Zager  kann  je 
ihm  entschlagen. 

umhangen. 

S.   95,   Nacht  umbangt  gebundene  Augen.     Goethe,   wie  des 
Persers  Bulbul  Rosenbusch  umbangt. 

verwaehnen. 

G.  70,  so  weise  und  stark  verwaehnt  sich  der  Held. 
zergreifen. 

S.  9,  mit  einem  Griff  zergreif  ich  den  Quark. 
zerschmieden. 

S.  9,  waer  mir  nicht  schier  zu  schaebig  der  Wicht,  ich  zerschmie- 
det  ihn  selbst. 
zerschwingen. 

S.  5,  es  gibt  ein  Schwert,  das  er  nicht  zerschwaenge ;  G.  69, 
mein  Schwert  zerschwang  einen  Speer. 

zertrotzen. 

S.  5,  Nothungs  Truemmer  zertrotzt  er  nicht;  S.  86,  zerfochtene 
Waffe. 

IV.    STYLISTIC    OBSERVATIONS 

(1)  Wagnerian  Idioms 
darhen. 

R.  38,  an  den  Aesten  darbt  und  dorrt  das  Obst ;  S.  54,  rufe  mich 
auch,  darbst  du  des  Rats;  G.  6,  falb  fielen  die  Blaetter,  duerr 


The  Vocabulary  93 

darbte  der  Baum.     Cf.  Simrock.  Oegisdrecka,  39  der  Hand  muss 
ich  darben;  Voeluspa  8  imd  darbten  goldener  Dinge  noch  nicht. 

magern. 

S.  25,  vor  Wotan  magert  mein  Muttrwitz. 
hungeni. 

S.  49,  mich  himgert  sein. 
faul  gelingen. 

S.  31,  Liebe  zu  mir  sollte  er  lernen,  das  gelang  nun  leider  faul. 
heissen. 

S.  52,  doch  heisse  mich  das,  hat  auch  der  Wurm  ein  Herz; 
otherwise  heissen  is  commonly  used :  S.  53,  soil  das  etwa  Fuerch- 
ten  heissen;  cf.  R.  13,  W.  18,  2-4;  G.  7;  but  S.  80:  wohin,  luiabe, 
heisst  dich  dein  Weg. 
jach. 

G.  27,  um  die  Rueckkehr  ist's  mir  jach. 

taugen 

For  geUngen,  geraten,  S.  57,  auf  dem  Rohre  taugt  die  wonnige 
Weise  mir  nicht.     He  avoids  this  word  on  the  same  page;  auf 
dem  dummen  Rohre  geraet  mir  nichts. 
loahr  weisen. 

G.  69,  Siegfried,  wir  weisen  dich  wahr. 
werter  gelten. 

G.  35,  ein  Blitz  aus  dem  hehren  Glanz  gilt  mir  werter  als  .  .  . 

uehen. 

S.  75,  Weisen  ueb'  ich,  dass  weithin  wache  was  fester  Schlaf 
verschiiesst ;  cf.  S.  47,  anders  als  dumme  Riesen  ueb'  ich  des 
Ringes  Kraft.  The  first  means  bewirken,  the  second,  gebrau- 
chen. 

Notice  the  following:  die  Schwertstuecke  zerspinnen,  S.  IS; 
ein  Werk  aus  Erz  weben,  R.  45;  den  Zuernendcn  an  mir  iiir 
zoegern,  W.  69.  Ettmueller  has  a  few  of  these  phrases:  Sicg- 
munds  Schiffe  schritten,  p.  44;  zaehe  Zaehrcn,  etc.  Here,  as 
with  Wagner,  the  influence  of  alliteration  is  quite  evident. 

(2)  Annomination 

Ettmueller  shows  a  preference  for  the.se,  taken  over  literally 
from  old   Norse:    Rat  ist  dir  geraten,   ratct    nun   Rat,  der  Tag 


94  The  Vocabulary 

tagt,  eine  Bitte  bitt'  ich,  Schwuere  schwurst  du,  ich  hoerte  sagen 
in  Sagen  der  Vorzeit,  Kampf  war  gekaempft,  mit  Harfe  harfte 
Gimnar,  Spiele  spielen;  Grimm,  Edda:  Schlaf  schlafst  du  nicht, 
etc.  Wagner;  nie  sann  dies  ernstlich  mein  Sinn,  Rache  raeche 
den  Fehl,  mit  keinem  Gruss  gruesst,  Braten  briet,  Rat  mir  riet, 
mit  Rate  riet,  der  Gedanke  den  ich  nicht  dachte. 

(3)  Play  Upon  Words 

R.  Freia  die  holde,  Holda  die  Freie;  vertragen  ist's,  sie  tragen 
wir  heim ;  wollen  sie  f rei'n,  ein  Haus  soil  sie  erf reu'n ;  Loge  heisst 
du,  doch  nenn  ich  dich  Luege;  versank  ich  in  Sinnen,  bis  unter 
den  Sitz  warst  du  versunken.     Cf.  66,  70,  75. 

W.  Friedmund  darf  ich  nicht  heissen,  Frohwalt  moecht  ich 
wohl  sein;  als  Waelse  woelfisch  im  Walde  du  schweiftest;  zu 
Walvater,  der  dich  gewaehlt ;  c/.  44,  70,  76,  82,  85. 

S.  He  Mime,  du  Memme;  nun  schwitze  noch  einmal,  dass 
ich  dich  schweisse.     Cf.  20,  40,  71. 

G.  Wie  heisst  deine  Schwester — Gutrun — sind's  gute  Runen; 
Hagen — der  Hagedorn  sticht  nun  nicht  mehr;  wie  den  Wurm  du 
faelltest,  so  faellst  auch  du. 

(4)  Favorite  Forms. 

(a)  With  zu:  zu  eins,  zu  zwei,  zu  Leib,  zu  Ross,  zu  Heer,  zu 
Grund,  zu  Nutz,  zu  Recht,  zu  End',  zu  Tal,  zu  Hauf,  zu  best, 
zu  ganz,  etc. 

(6)  With  -ur:  urweise,  urwissend,  Urmuetter,  Urmuetter  Weis- 
heit,  Urmuetter  Furcht,  Ursorge,Urgestz,  etc. 

(c)  Substantives  in  Ge-:  Geduenst,  Gedueft,  Gedaempf,  Ge- 
neck,  Gewoelk,  Gestimm,  Gekeif,  Geraun,  Gestemm,  Gefrage, 
Gewirk,  Geaest,  Geheiss,  Gewell,  Gewog. 

(d)  Substantives  in  -er:  Bauer  (Erbauer,  one  who  builds), 
Haeufer,  Zager,  Angstversehrter,  Gieriger,  Verbieter,  etc. 

(e)  Compound  Substantives:  Gaunergezuecht,  Nickergezuecht, 
Wassergezuecht,  Riesengezuecht,  Goettergehchter,  Gewitter- 
brunst,  Glimmerschein,  Minnetraum,  Widdergespann,  Goeter- 
gesetz,  Ahauner,  Nachthueter,  Wonneentzuecken,  Wunsch- 
maedchen,  Wotanskind,  Schildmaid,  Looskieserin,  Heldenreizerin, 
Ohnmachtsschmerz,  Hoffnungssehnen,  Weltenwonne,  Fratzen- 
schmied,  Nabelnest,  Wurmsgeschlecht,  Zwergenzwecke,  Zwergen- 


The  Vocabulary  95 

frohne,  Wogengewoelk,  Lustfreie,  Leidbelastete,  Niederboste, 
Mannesgemahl,  etc. 

(/)  Invectives:  schaebiger  Knecht,  Lungerer,  frevelnder 
Gauch,  Geek,  Garstige,  Kauz,  schleckes  Geschluepfer,  glitscher- 
iger  Glimmer,  kalter,  graetiger  Fisch,  Wicht,  Hund,  feiger  Wicht, 
garstiger  Gauch,  raeudiger  Kerl,  Memme,  verfluchte  Klemme, 
Toelpel,  Ruepel  haariger  hoeckriger  Geek,  schwieliges  Schwefel- 
gezeug,  schmaehlich  schlaues  luederlich  schlechtes  Gelichter, 
fauler  Sehuft. 

(gr)  Metaphor  and  personification  of  the  brute  and  inanimate 
world. 

In  her  denunciation  of  Wotan  for  engendering  the  Waelsung, 
Fricka  calls  the  twin  couple  merely  a  brood,  a  litter — dem 
Wurfe  der  Woelfin  wirfst  du  zu  Fuessen  dein  Weib,  W.  .31. 

Siegmund  has  been  fascinated  by  the  lustre  of  Sieglind's 
eyes;  night  falls  quickly,  he  is  left  alone  with  a  threat  from 
Handing  for  to-morrow's  combat;  entire  darkness  now  envelops 
him  and  within  him  is  the  gloom  of  dire  apprehension,  when, 
suddenly,  a  gleam  of  light  breaks  through  the  tree  where  Nothung 
is  securely  thrust:  welch  ein  Strahl  bricht  aus  der  Esche  Stamm? 
1st  es  der  Blick  der  bluehenden  Frau  .  .  .,  W.  16. 

Spring  breaks  in  upon  the  loving  couple:  der  Lenz  lacht,  sein 
Atem  weht,  weit  geoeffnet  lacht  sein  Auge,  aus  sel'ger  Voeglein 
Sange  suess  er  toent,  holde  Luefte  haucht  er  aus,  aus  seincm 
warmen  Blue  entbluehen  wonnige  lilumen,  mit  zarter  \A'alTcn 
Zier  bezwingt  er  die  Welt,  W.  20. 

Fricka's  Widder  aechzen  vor  Angst,  wild  rasseln  die  Raeder. 

Sieglinde  suddenly  becomes  aware  of  her  tragic  guilt,  she 
despises  not  only  her  lover,  she  abhors  herself  wil  h  extreme 
repugnance.  When  Siegmund  enfolds  her  to  his  bosom,  she 
cries:  flieh  die  Leiche.  Cf.  Fouqu(§,  p.  241;  Guiinar  embracing 
Brynhild:    fort,  bin  Leiche  sciion. 

Ilunding  comes  with  his  dogs  for  the  ap|)()inted  combat  ;  in  the 
yelps  of  dumb  beasts  Sicglind  hears  an  accusation  of  her  guilt 
crying  to  heaven:  mutig  gehetzt  heult  die  Meute,  wild  bollt  sie 
zum  Himmel  um  der  Ehe  gebrochenen  Eid — Ruedcn  fletschon  die 
Zaehne  nach  Fleisch,  sie  achten  nicht  deines  cdlcn  liluts,  W.  48. 

Grtlind's  mare  is  being  pushed  by  the  stallion,  (!(>rhii(l  Ix'lieves 
that  the  hatred  of  the  heroes  creates  mischief  even  among  the 


96  The  Vocabulary 

horses:  der  Recken  Zwist  entzweit  noch  die  Rosse  der  Helden 
Grimm  huesste  schon  die  Graiie,  W.  64.  Cf.  Wilkina,  chap.  41, 
where  Falke  fights  for  his  master,  breaking  Ecke's  back;  in  chap. 
43,  Falke  repeats  this  feat  as  his  master  is  waging  a  losing  combat 
with  an  elephant.     Fouque  also  makes  use  of  this,  p.  197. 

When  Wotan  comes,  enraged  by  Bruennhild's  attitude,  to 
mete  out  to  her  the  fullest  measure  of  his  w^ath,  even  the  elements 
of  nature  are  in  sympathy  with  his  mission:  Gewittersturm  naht 
vom  Norden,  starkes  Gewoelk  staut  sich  auf,  Heervater  reitet 
sein  heilig  Ross,  W.  65. 

The  repose  of  the  Rheingold  is  described  as :  des  Goldes  Schlaf, 
der  Rhein  ist  des  Schlummernden  Bett,  die  Weckerin  Gruesst  den 
Wonnigen  Schlaefer  (meaning  the  gold)  jetzt  kuesst  sie  sein  Auge, 
dieses  laechelt.  Das  Rheingold  selbst  ist:  leuchtende  Lust,  glue- 
hender  Glanz,  der  Freund,  der  Wassertiefe  wonniger  Stern,  der 
klare  Hort.  Fuer  Loge  ist  es:  ein  Tand;  fuer  Alberich,  nachdem 
er  es  hat:  zwingende  Kraft,  nachdem  er  es  verloren  hat:  ver- 
fluchtes  Gold;  fuer  Siegfried:  ein  wertloses  Ding;  fuer  Bruenn- 
hilde:  verfluchter  Reif,  furchtbarer  Ring. 

The  sword  Nothung  is  called  upon  as  a  witness  to  Siegmund's 
integrity,  he  (for  here  the  sword  is  mascuhne)  is  admonished: 
zeig  deiner  Schaerfe  schneidenden  Zahn,  Nothnug  zernagt  das 
Herz,  W.  47.  Again  he  is  admonished,  this  time  to  take  life: 
zwei  Leben  lachen  in  dir,  nimm  sie,  Nothung;  Hunding  is  to  taste 
its  sharp  edge,  seine  Schneide  schmecke  jetzt  du.  When  Sieg- 
fried has  welded  the  pieces  of  the  broken  sword  he  throws  it, 
still  glowing,  into  the  water  to  temper  it:  in  das  Wasser  floss 
sein  Feuerfluss,  grimmiger  Zorn  zischt  ihm  da  auf.  He  speaks 
to  the  sword  as  one  would  to  an  unrelenting  friend ;  einst  faerbte 
Blut  dein  falbes  Blau— kalt  lachtest  du  da,  das  Warme  lecktest  du 
kuehl — zornig  spruehst  du  mir  Funken,  weil  ich  dich  Sproeden 
gezaehmt,  lustig  lachst  du  mich  an — nun  schwinde  deine  rote 
Scham — werde  kalt  und  hart  wie  du  kannst — tot  lagst  du,  jetzt 
leuchtest  du  trotzig  \md  hehr. 

Of  the  fire  around  Bruennhild's  mountain  is  said  (die  Lohe) 
es  lecW  ihre  Zung',  es  fresse  ihr  Zahn  den  Zagen — wer  die  Braut 
begehrt,  dem  brennt  entgegen  die  Brunst — as  though  the  fire 
knew  that  he  who  longs  for  the  sleeping  maiden  is  near.  Then 
follows  a  crescendo  which  reminds  one  of  the  fire  scene  in  Schiller's 


The  Vocdbulary  97 

"Bell:"  es  waechst  der  Schein,  es  schwillt  die  Glut,  sengende 
W'olken,  wabernde  Lohe  waelzen  sich  brennend  und  prasselnd 
herab;  ein  Lichtmeer  iimleuchtet  dein  Haupt,  bald  jrisst  und 
zehrt  dich  zuendendes  Feuer — zunieck  denn,  rasendes  Kind! 
S.  85.  Again,  the  fire  is  made  the  intelligent  guard  at  Siegfried's 
second  approach,  G.  36,  beginning  with  the  soft  evening  gleam, 
and  growing  into  surging,  fearful  billows  of  flame:  abendlich 
Daemmern  deckt  den  Himmel,  heller  leuchtet  die  huetende  Lohe 
— was  leckt  so  wuetend  die  lodernde  Welle  zum  Wall — zur 
Feuerspitze  wealzt  sich  der  feurige  Schwall.  Again,  the  fire  is 
made  a  moral  agent,  this  time  influencing  Siegfried.  His  whole 
frame  is  thrilled  by  the  first  startling  emotions  of  human  love: 
ein  zehrendes  Feuer  ist  mir  entzuended — with  exquisite  innocence 
he  explains  this  heretofore  unknown  rapture  due  to  the  fire: 
die  Glut,  die  Bruennhilds  Felsen  umbrann,  die  brennt  mir  nun 
in  der  Brust. 

Hagen  speaks  as  though  the  blood  in  his  veins  were  aware  of 
its  ignoble  extraction,  for  that  reason  it  is  storrisch,  nicht  will's 
die  Wange  mir  roeten,  G.  27. 

When  Gunther  sails  down  the  Rhine  with  Siegfried  to  gain 
possession  of  Bruennhild,  even  the  wind  is  propitious:  Gibichs 
Solm  wehet  der  Wind,  G.  28. 

Wotan's  ravens  feel  the  speedy  and  irresistible  approach  of 
disaster,  ^^'ould  that  they  returned  with  good  news,  he  would 
have  reason  to  hope  once  more — but  they  do  not  return. 


s-  1    '■; 


4 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 
Los  Angeles 

This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


MAY  1  8J966    ^ 


1/lA 


TrWD  WUS-LfP 

JUN8     1973 


I 

Form  L9-17m-8.'.'.T(B3:!39s4)444 


^UAMR  LOAH^^f^g 


^,SS\ 


0^1 


».|?r^i  T 


^.^ 


/i 


^/< 


JAN  y^M 


HEC'O  MUS  lIB 

FEB    1  boa 

IMAR22  1^ 
fsnwam 


MAR    31991 


MAY  31  19* 


MAY  4     1992 

FEB  8    1992 

JUN  1  6  1993 


THB  LIBRART 

DMVERsrrr  or  califobnei 

LOS  ANGSUSa 


Music 
Library 

.JJL 


ML  410  W19S3 


Schiilor 


UlO 


The  languar^ 
of  Richard — 


'!^agner's  Ring 
dec  Nibolungorti 


Music 
Library 

IxlO 


L  007  014  901   8 


AA    000  530  421     7 


UNIVERSITY  of  CAUFOPVM 


■  l^RARY 


1 

^^^^^^H 

1 

^^^^^^^^H 

■ 

'^^H 

^ 

1 

1 

^^T^J^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H 

